Mishap by Mug
by EmmaLennyEddie
Summary: When Snotlout's jealousy begins to take on an obsession, he formulates a plan that was supposed to end Hiccup's newly-founded relationship with Astrid. But when things go too far, Hiccup and Astrid will now have to worry about becoming teenage parents. Set shorty after the first movie.
1. The Mishap

**Author's Note: Hello my fellow Fanrats! Man, it sure is nice to step out of my beloved fandom and embrace the new. Know what I'm saying? Of course you do. You're all geniuses. So, this is my first, "How to Train Your Dragon" story, so naturally, I'm extremely nervous about what people say about it. When I first entered the fandom, I was surprised to see how little stories there were about teenage pregnancy. So, being the sadistic Fanrat that I am, I decided to take on the challenge myself. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this. **

_Summary: When Snotlout's jealousy begins to take on an obsession, he formulates a plan that was supposed to end Hiccup's relationship with Astrid. But when things go too far, the newly-found couple will now have to worry about becoming teenage parents. _

**Rated T for safety. **

**Note: Don't worry, there's no such thing as swear words in my world.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise, no matter how many times I put it on my Christmas wish list. Curse you Santa...**

**...**

Snotlout could only watch in pure shock as his life-time crush tugged his scrawny cousin close so that their lips were locked. He felt himself stiffen, his hands unconsciously tightening around the horns of his dragon, Hookfang. He watched helplessly as his cousin's emerald eyes lowered to a half-lidded stance and mumbled something he couldn't pick up on. Whatever it was, it couldn't help that rage and jealousy were now filling him to the core. His face burned with embarrassment at the fact that he, one of the strongest teen Vikings on Berk, had been upstaged by _Hiccup_, his less-than-mediocre cousin.

Still... What in Thor's name just happened?! Did Astrid seriously kiss that...that _fishbone_ of a Viking?! Did fearless Astrid Hofferson, the one who personified the term "Viking" in every way possible, just subject herself to kiss someone who was too far mundane? She stood at five feet and five inches and her slender form harvested pounds of muscle! While she was physically Viking, Hiccup was indeed her opposite. So why would she even bother with him?

Snotlout's jaw went slack in total bewilderment, his chest tightening. S-So what if Hiccup had defeated the Red Death? That didn't change the fact that he was still Hiccup: a scrawny, weak little runt! It wasn't even possible! Snotlout glowered at his star-struck cousin for only a moment longer before he growled. "Let's go Hookfang. We've got better things to do than hang around these losers," he huffed, turning his nose in the air.

Hookfang snorted and illuminated himself with flames for a moment before bucking the large boy off of his scaly backside in defiance. Snotlout cried out as he landed hard in the dirt, tremors of pain shooting up his spine. "Hookfang! You stupid lizard!" He snarled before gingerly hauling himself up. His dragon let out a warble that sounded suspiciously close to human laughter, before darting away.

Snotlout lightly kicked at the ground and turned his back. "Stupid dragon. Can't even count on him to get me away from...that." He then looked back to the group of Vikings that surrounded Hiccup, congratulating him on his defeat of the Red Death, complimenting his bravery, strength, and persistence. The young male seemed rather bashful about the whole thing, especially after the kiss. Snotlout sneered mockingly at his cousin's shy demeanor.

"Yada, yada," He scoffed inwardly, "Who even cares?" He knew it sounded dumb to ask such an irrational thing, but his anger seemed to dim his common sense a tad. "I was there too! I was on the Gods-forsaken thing, bashing its eye in with a shield!" He spluttered, "H-How cool was that? Doesn't that deserve a little attention?"

Silence. He groaned, watching with annoyance as Hiccup and Astrid looked eye-to-eye. "Apparently not," he muttered with contempt. "Stupid Hiccup. They're just being polite because he lost a leg."

One more thing he was jealous of.

...

The boy was still angry that night. And it caught the attention of one of his friends.

"Hey Snotlout, you seem quiet tonight," Fishlegs observed over the noisy chatter. All the villagers were gathered in the Great Hall for a celebratory dinner. Most of the teens had settled at an empty table near the corner after receiving a leg of mutton and quality chicken broth. "Lighten up. We finally got rid of that terrifying monster and Hiccup survived. Try to enjoy yourself for once! I mean, have you tasted this mutton?" Fishlegs asked pleasantly.

"Pfft." Snotlout picked at his leg of mutton with disinterest. "Whatever."

The male Thortsen twin seated across from the gloomy boy noticed his unhappy expression and took immediate advantage over the situation. "Heh. Looks like Snotlout's jealous," Tuffnut snickered before taking a huge bite out of his leg of mutton. "Sorry sucker," the blonde mumbled through a mouthful of food. "Can't all be heroes, huh?"

Tuffnut's twin sister, Ruffnut, cackled under her breath and gave her twin brother an enthusiastic high-five. "Good one."

"Shuddup," Snotlout growled with annoyance, "Who thinks I'm jealous?" he asked, shooting an extremely intimidating glare at the other male, who picked up on the danger signal and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Uh, Hiccup might," Tuffnut suggested with a smirk. "Astrid might... I might. Butt-elf here might," He gestured to his sister, who punched him roughly, "OW! Uh, and there's Bucket," he continued while tenderly rubbing his shoulder, "Mulch might. Chief might. Your dad might. Uh..." He paused, watching as the other boy's glare grew more heated with each passing name, but continued nonetheless. "Gobber might. Fishlegs might."

Snotlout threw Fishlegs a scary look. Said boy stiffened considerably. "Hey, don't look at me," he whimpered, twiddling his fingers nervously.

"Wait, even better: the whole village might!" Ruffnut sniggered nastily at Snotlout's cherry-red face.

"Oh, who cares?" The bulky male dismissed, staring at his plate in distaste. "Everyone knows that even though Hiccup defeated the Red Death, he'll still be the scrawny little wimp that he was before, and he always will be."

Fishleg's eyes widened considerably at Snotlout's words. "Whoa," Tuffnut exclaimed in surprise, raising his eyebrows. "You ARE jealous, aren't you?"

"NO! I'm not!" The boy denied with a shout, pushing his food away in anger. "I'm outta here. See ya losers!" Nobody bothered to stop the teenager as he stomped out of the bustling Great Hall.

Fishlegs let out an exhale as soon as the large doors shut behind the infuriated teen. "Whooh. He sounded pretty upset, huh guys? Uh, guys?"

The twins were hardly listening, already occupied with the normal session of sibling bickering. The rather heavy-set boy sighed and stared at his food. "I just hope he doesn't take it out on poor Hiccup."

He looked up with a start, realizing something. "Hey... Where's Hiccup and Astrid?"

...

"Stupid Tuffnut," Snotlout muttered under breath as he stomped through the village plaza, still infuriated over the whole predicament, "Stupid Hiccup. I'm not jealous."

"Yes, you are," a voice in the back of mind whispered.

"No, I'm not," he insisted, kicking at a small pail as he trudged through the village. It was a clear night, not a cloud in the sky, providing a beautiful view of the full moon. Too bad he couldn't enjoy it.

"I've never been jealous of Hiccup and I'll never be jealous of Hiccup," he repeated to himself. What was this? Release? Reassurance? He wasn't certain. "The only time where I would ever be even _remotely_ envious of him would be because of... Astrid."

Her name felt sweet on his tongue. Heh, even the meaning of her name was in sync to her physical being. Divine beauty. He sighed dreamily, nearing the forge where Gobber and Hiccup worked. "How in the Gods' names did he one-up me like that?" He shuddered. It felt so wrong to even think that.

Hiccup... His eyes narrowed. Because of him, he and Astrid would most likely never end up together. Because of him, she now had her attention all focused on the little runt.

"Astrid?"

Snotlout froze, and then frowned. Was that Hiccup? He stilled, listening intently until a muffled voice reached his ears. It was Hiccup!

What was he saying? Of course it was! He knew that nasal drone anywhere. It sounded like it was coming from the Forge.

With stealth, the young teen neared the small building. If he squinted, he could make out small rays of light emerging from the teeny cracks of the wooden walls coming from the inside. Pressing his ear against the walls, he could just make out the sound of his cousin's voice and... Astrid's.

Normally he wouldn't dare sneak up on the two because of Hiccup's pet dragon, Toothless, who'd sniff him out in a minute. But oddly enough, Hiccup had left his dragon back at home. Two guesses why.

"Hmph." He gritted his teeth and unconsciously clenched his fists. "Of course those two would ditch the celebration and their own dragons just to be together." He remained silent, trying to make out with they were saying, but unfortunately couldn't. With a heavy exhale of infuriation, he leaned back against the wall and gazed up at the sky.

"Why him?" He wondered silently for the hundredth time, crossing his muscular arms. "Why couldn't it have been me? Why not? I mean, I'm not a reader but I've got the brawn- something he doesn't have!" He smirked for a moment, considering for a moment.

"Yeah. I could take that fishbone any day. Heh, maybe I could teach him a lesson. Rough him up a bit." He frowned. "Nah, that's too predictable. Plus, Astrid would just come to his aid or something like that. She would still like him, even as a mangled haddock."

He bit the inside of his cheek as he pondered over what exactly he could do. "I've got to do something. Think. Think." He lightly tapped his iron helmet for emphasis. "What would someone like Hiccup do in this type of situation?" He snorted at the ridiculousness of comparing himself to his cousin. "Forget that. What would..." He trailed off. "What would Loki do?" He grinned considerably, and then at a moment of madness, the idea came to him. "He'd probably ruin their relationship." He smiled at the thought of Astrid getting angry at Hiccup and leaving him.

But what would push her to the point of abandoning him? Snotlout wracked his brain for an idea-anything that could get Astrid upset at his cousin-anything at all! But at first, all he could think of was his cousin's scrawniness and vulnerability-things that Astrid didn't seem to mind. He grimaced.

There must be something about Hiccup that she wouldn't like. Maybe something he could do. Not an appearance, but an action. And then, the plan came to him. He knew exactly what would push her over the edge, what would make her hate Hiccup forever.

"Oh no, this is too good," he whispered, turning to look at the entrance of the Forge with a mischievous grin. Just the thought of his cousin without Astrid by his side made him squirm with delight. He made up his mind right then and there, that he'd go through with the plan. Sure, it was outrageously inappropriate and incredible risky, that was what being a Viking was all about, right?

...

"So, I haven't seen you here all that much," Astrid said casually, leaning against the rickety old table that was Gobber's desk. "Blacksmithing's hard work, huh?" In her hand she held a large mug of water, nearly empty. She was the one that had suggested they spend some time alone, away from the hustle and bustle of the village.

Hiccup was beside her, and he shrugged nonchalantly, smiling. "It's alright once you get used to it. Crafting, handling the sharp weapons, Gobber yelling at you..." He cracked a grin and Astrid chuckled at his attempt for lightness.

"Well, I doubt he'll be yelling at you, now that you're the hero of Berk and all," she suggested with a smirk, knowing how he was uncomfortable by the prospect of it all.

Sure enough, he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Aw c'mon," he mumbled humbly, "I couldn't have done it without you guys. All I did was lose a leg..."

From outside, Snotlout rolled his eyes.

Astrid snorted and lightly punched his arm, causing him to grin sheepishly. "Yeah, keep that up, Hiccup. You're not fooling anyone. Say, how's your leg doing, anyway? Does it still hurt?" Her ocean blue eyes drifted to the metal contraption that now took the place of his missing limb.

"Naw," he dismissed with a little wave, "it's a little sore at some points, but that's to be expected, right?"

"Right. You're tougher than I thought," she teased, causing his face to turn an even darker scarlet. "Well," she smiled warmly and held up her mug to toast, "To our defeat of the Red Death!" He beamed happily and gently clinked his mug against her's before taking a swig of the water.

"To OUR defeat of the Red Death, indeed!" A familiar, but still out-of-nowhere voice, entered the atmosphere, causing Hiccup to almost choke. There Snotlout entered, his hands casually locked behind his back, he approached the other two teens. Astrid watched carefully while Hiccup grinned.

"Oh, hey Snotlout. What're you doing here?" He asked casually, trying to hide his disappointment of he and Astrid's moment being interrupted, "Shouldn't you be up at the Great Hall celebrating?" He hinted.

His cousin's eyes narrowed just the slightest.

"I could ask you the same thing," Snotlout retorted haughtily, bringing his meaty hands out from behind his back. Astrid craned her neck to catch a glimpse of what Snotlout was holding, which were two simple mugs, filled to the brim with some sort of drink. "What are you two doing here?"

Astrid scoffed and flipped her bangs out of her cyan eyes. "Because it concerns you?" She asked sarcastically. Snotlout chuckled and thrust the two mugs forward.

"May I ask what these are for?" Hiccup asked with slight suspicion, taking one from his cousin when it was handed to him.

Snotlout shrugged innocently, avoiding eye contact with his cousin. "Gobber asked me to give them to you." Hiccup peered into the mug, as did Astrid. They both looked at Snotlout for an explanation. "As a thank you, I guess," he explained, trying to suppress a chill expression. "Not that you two did anything more heroic than I did," he taunted, flexing his large muscles.

Astrid pressed a hand over her mouth, desperately trying to hold down the bile while Hiccup rolled his emerald eyes. "Yes, well, thank you for that, cousin-of-little-decency."

"Ugh, I think I'm going be sick," the blonde muttered, causing Snotlout to chuckle.

"Oh, Astrid," he flirted, "you know you can't resist all this." He gestured to himself and flexed his biceps, causing her to grimace.

"Oh, I'm sure I'm managing to," the girl retched in disgust, taking a large swig of the drink Snotlout had given her without further questioning. Hm. It tasted rather sweet. Was it some sort of juice? Hiccup gave Snotlout one last look of suspicion before taking a sip of his own drink. Well, if it was from Gobber... Snotlout watched intently as the two finished off their drinks and smirked.

"I guess I'll leave you two alone to whatever you two were doing," he suggested, backing away as the couple stared at him in confusion. "Yep..." He trailed off, and then not wanting raise their suspicion any higher, fled the smithy.

The two teenagers stared after him for a moment before glancing at each other and shrugging. "Nothing unusual there."

It was all Snotlout could take him laughing out loud. Once he had exited the Forge, he ran around the back and peeked through a crack of the wall to further observe the two. This was it.

Little did the two know, he had given them a rather strong elixir that only adult Vikings would consume. It was usually used on fatally wounded people that made them all loopy before Gothi would work on them. And those patients were only given a small dose. Astrid and Hiccup had just drunk a whole mug. They'd be pretty incoherent in a matter of minutes, which was exactly what Snotlout wanted. He wanted them drunk and disorderly, but most importantly, alone.

So far, Astrid had been rubbing her forehead, complaining of feeling rather woozy. Hiccup admitted to feeling the same, swaying a bit as the stuff began to kick in. Snotlout watched in satisfaction as Hiccup asked if she was okay.

When he only got a moan in response, he lowered her to the floor. Then suddenly, a big smile appeared on the teenage girl's face.

"You...You okay, Astrid?" He breathed, feeling dizzy.

"Muh-huh...You're soooooooooo Hiccup-y..." She slurred, wrapping her wonky arms around Hiccup's thin neck. The perpetrator held back a snort as the tough, Viking warrior reduced to a babbling state of mind. "I like thatnuhhherse..."

The other Viking seemed to be in another world, his emerald eyes suddenly becoming glazed over and his body all limp. He said nothing, but collapsed atop of Astrid, who mumbled something Snotlout couldn't pick up on.

"Ppthanksseeeen..." Hiccup drawled, his freckled face mushed into her collar.

Snotlout slapped a thick hand over his mouth to keep from chortling with laughter. It was incredibly funny to see his cousin, the so-called hero of Berk, a wasted mess.

"Some hero!" He wanted to jeer, but kept silent as he watched the two embrace each other. There was only one other thing left to do while their hormones kicked in. Running back to the front of the Forge, he grabbed a scrap plank of wood and placed it over the handles of the doors.

"That should hold you," he said with satisfaction, taking a step back. Those two were probably too far gone to even notice that they were locked in. Would anyone discover them? He shook his head. Nah.

The adults were too preoccupied with their drinks to take notice of Hiccup and Astrid's absence. Oh, they'd know by morning, but that was more than enough time for the couple to do something stupid or dangerous. He smirked, recalling the abundant amount of weapons Gobber left lying about the Forge. Hiccup and Astrid would most likely wake up, completely forgetful of the previous night, to find themselves in that state.

So perhaps his original plan of having Hiccup ruin the relationship wasn't exactly going to work. He'd have the adults take care of the aftermath.

He stood quiet, listening to the muffled noises emitting from the two drunken teenagers. Yep, he had a pretty good hunch of what the adults would find the next morning. His hope was that his cousin would do something that would horrify or disgust Astrid that would make her hate him forever. That, or they would do something incredibly inappropriate.

He chuckled sinisterly and rubbed his hands together. And when they were discovered, both Hiccup and Astrid would have to be separated. It was the rule. Even though Vikings were rather barbaric, they still had lines that children were taught should not be crossed.

Snotlout cackled again and glanced up at the Great Hall, when a pang of discomfort caused him to frown. "What if someone catches them in the act?" Now that would be quite interesting. The male then pondered if he should leave the two or stay close in case someone just happened to pass by.

He began to back away from the Forge. He couldn't stay. Someone would suspect him and then he'd end up in bigger trouble.

Some weird noises emitted from the forge and the boy grimaced, leaning against the door. Well, it didn't hurt to stay and lookout. Even if it was for... Hiccup.

...

An hour later...

"'Ello there Snotlout!"

The guilty party yelped, turning around quickly to find Gobber himself strolling towards him, a mug in one hand, his other, a prosthetic hook that had speared a leg of mutton. Snotlout spluttered for a moment before regaining his hard-set demeanor. "What are ye doing out here, lad? Ye should be enjoying the party! They've got legs of mutton!" He smiled, waving the prosthetic hook in the air.

Snotlout paled and immediately felt sweat droplets begin to bead at his forehead. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? It wasn't like the man knew he was behind...whatever the heck Hiccup and Astrid were doing in there.

"O-Oh yeah! Sounds great! Sounds great..." He trailed off and chuckled nervously, knowing full well what was in the Forge, but with no knowledge of how to excuse himself from the scene.

A muffled moan emitted from the smithy, to which Snotlout coughed loudly in order to cover up the noise. "What in Thor's name are you losers doing in there?" He thought in confusion.

"Ye alright there, laddie? Ye don't look yourself," The large blacksmith observed curiously, raising an eyebrow at the usually cocky boy, who'd suddenly gone rather quiet.

"I'm fine!" The young Viking laughed, trying to sound casual, praying that Gobber wouldn't suspect him of what lay behind the door of the Forge. "I was just heading back up there! I needed to...you know."

The much older male wrinkled his nose. "Oi, I don't need to know that, boy." With a tired heave, the older Viking pushed past the younger one and stopped suddenly, eyeing the barricaded entrance to his shop. "What in the name of Thor...?" He muttered, removing the wooden plank and pushing open the door.

At this point, Snotlout had been inching away, towards the Great Hall. He was sure that even the almighty Gods had flinched at the volume of Gobber yelling, "Hiccu-WHAT IN ODIN'S NAME ARE YE TWO DOING?!" The culprit smirked as Gobber entered the forge, sounds of iron plates clinking against each other. With a little chuckle, Snotlout slunk away from the small smithy. Whatever the blacksmith had found them doing must've been pretty bad. Awesome!

Gobber had yet to overcome the initial shock of what he had discovered. It was priceless. Hiccup and Astrid. Curled up in each other's arms. Most of their clothes discarded. Unconsciously slurring random excuses under their breath. The evidence coating their lower halves gave away what had happened. Blood and...oh. "W-Whaddaya?" Gobber stuttered, forgetting all about Snotlout. "Hiccup?! What're you doin'?"

Hiccup seemed to be coming to at the sound of Gobber's bellow, lifting his head and opening his emerald eyes to a half-lidded state. "Mmuh...Gobby?" The man struggled to control his temper as he approached his young apprentice, reached down, and yanked him up by his stick-thin arm. "Get up!" He thundered. "You too, Astrid!" Hiccup let out a pathetic yelp as Gobber's fingers became entwined in his slightly tangled auburn locks and he peered at the man through bloodshot eyes. "Get dressed," he growled firmly. "Now. The both of you."

Astrid struggled to get to her feet, the room completely blurry in her azure eyes. "Whas happened?" She drawled, in a daze. Gobber retrieved her discarded bindings and shoved them at her.

"Never mind that," he replied gruffly, averting his eyes from her, "You'll find out soon enough. Now get dressed. I can't believe the two of you. The total disregard of Viking morale!" He paused his chide and eyed the mugs that had accidentally been discarded. Suspicious, he picked one up. With one sniff, he recognized the elixir the two teens had consumed. Gobber closed his eyes, using as much strength he had to resist the urge to shout every Scandinavian curse he knew at the two fools.

"What in Odin's name are you drinking this stuff for?" He gasped. "I'm sure you two are aware of what this does to you." The man tossed the mug away and watched as the two struggled to get dressed in their drunken state. Astrid stumbled to the floor, holding her head and moaned in pain. Hiccup kept muttering unintelligible words under his breath and randomly pawing at the air. Gobber closed his eyes. "Stay here. I'm going to get Stoick." And with that said, Gobber rushed out of the forge and onto the street, running to the Great Hall as fast as his body would let him. "Drinking like Romans..." He muttered.

Snotlout watched, satisfied that Hiccup and Astrid would be separated by the next morning.

...

"Stoick!" Gobber called frantically as he shoved the double doors to the Great Hall agape. "Stoick, I need you to come with me, right now!"

Hiccup's father just so happen to be approaching the doors as soon as Gobber shoved them open, causing him to collide with them head on. "Argh!" The man yelped, rubbing his now aching forehead. He glared at his best friend, who was out of breath. "What is it Gobber? What's wrong?"

Gobber's panicked expression erased any anger Stoick may have felt and replaced it with concern. "Tell me!"

"Stoick..." Gobber paused, sad that he was the one who had to deliver the shocking news. He looked about for a moment before lowering his voice. "It's Astrid and Hiccup. They've..."connected" as it will." Stoick's mouth went agape. "And right now," Gobber continued, "believe it or not, those two are stumbling about in my Forge, drunk."

Stoick stared at him, praying to the Gods that Gobber was joking. "Tell me this is a joke-a trick even," he breathed, dread consuming him. He was sure that Hiccup wouldn't do such a thing. He didn't seem like the type who would break that type of law. But then again, his best friend wasn't known to lie.

Gobber shook his head in sympathy for his friend. "I'm afraid not, Chief," he said sorrowfully. "I sampled their drink and it seems as though they've been consuming one of Gothi's elixirs. You know the one she gives to delirious patients?"

Drinking too? What had gone wrong?! Stoick knew that he had clearly explained these mature matters to his son and that they were wrong. And yet, Hiccup had deliberately disobeyed his rules. Stoick's once saddened face grew angry, and Gobber sighed, knowing that the chief would not take this lightly. "Show me where they are," Stoick commanded, and Gobber obeyed, quietly leading him from the Great Hall, ignoring the whispers and murmurs that trailed after them.

Stoick never thought he would be as embarrassed and ashamed for his son as much as he did when he found Hiccup passed out, naked on the floor of the smithy with Astrid at his side. If he looked closely he could notice the blood droplets dotting the floor. So Hiccup was Astrid's first. Trying not to lose his temper, the man knelt down and shook his son's shoulder. "Hiccup," he barked. "Wake up!"

The young Viking's head lolled to the side, his hands randomly clenching and unclenching, muttering obscene things under his breath.

Embarrassed by Hiccup's state, Stoick rolled his eyes and took his young son in his arms, prepared to carry him home himself. Hiccup buried his freckled face in his father's impressive beard and groaned, going limp, but shivering every so often in the cold air.

"Tell Astrid's parents to come here immediately," Stoick ordered the blacksmith, "Tell them I'll explain what's happened when they get here." Gobber nodded and left right away.

Snotlout had watched the whole thing in sick delight. "Ha! That should do it," he thought with a grin. "Geez, do I even have to get involved anymore? It looks like Astrid and Hiccup took care of their relationship for me."

...

The next morning...

Hiccup woke the next morning feeling extremely groggy and sluggish. He opened his emerald eyes and blinked, his vision unusually fuzzy, even in the morning. He sat up with a groan, pressing a hand to his forehead when a sharp pain shot through his head. "Ugh..." He groaned, his stomach protesting his movements, "What happened?"

A cheery warble from his dragon was his response. The young teenager grinned weakly as Toothless bounded over to his side, giving him a warm nuzzle for comfort. "Hey there, Bud," Hiccup greeted, giving the Nightfury a much-enjoyed scratch under the chin. "How's my best friend doing?" Toothless crooned warmly, lapping at his human's cheek .

"Ack! Toothless!" The scrawny boy cried out in disgust. "That doesn't wash-OW!" He doubled over, holding his abdomen tightly.

The Nightfury watched in concern, letting out a grumble of pity.

"I-I'm fine, Bud. Heh, you're probably feeling better than me I'll bet," Hiccup chuckled, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. "You're lucky dragons don't get-ARGH!" Another wave of pain. "-headaches," the boy finished, rubbing his aching temples tenderly. "Jeez, what did I eat?" He wracked his brain but curiously enough, he couldn't remember much of what happened the previous night.

Toothless cocked his head to the side, much like a curious puppy, and nudged his human, earning a goofy grin. "You wanna fly, Bud?" Hiccup asked as he hobbled over to his desk and grabbed his fur vest. "Sure thing! After breakfast of course. Maybe I'll feel better after a bite to eat."

The two made their ways down the stairs, Toothless bounding and Hiccup trudging, an arm clenching his stomach. He called, "Hey Dad? Toothless and I are going to head out after breakfast and meet up with Astrid at the academy, okay?"

"You'll not be going anywhere today." The response his father gave him was so sullen and so serious that Hiccup stopped dead in his tracks. Toothless whined and rumbled in protest.

Confused and slightly concerned, the young Viking stepped over to his father, who's back was to him. Stoick was facing the fire he had lit moments before, not even glancing at his son.

"Sit down, son," he ordered, "We need to talk."

"Uh, sure Dad," Hiccup obeyed quickly, not wanting to get on his father's bad side this early in the day. "Uh, why don't you go outside, buddy?" The dragon warbled unhappily but complied with his human's wishes, shuffling out the door. Once he was absent, Hiccup pulled up a spare wooden stool and sat across from the large man. "Is... Is everything alright?" The fourteen-year-old questioned, bewildered when his father only sighed, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows.

Hiccup froze, recognizing the look his father was giving him. The same look that had haunted him all his life. It was disappointment.

"You haven't an inkling of what you did last night, do you?" Stoick the Vast muttered. Hiccup tensed. It was more of a statement than that of a question.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Dad," the teen said honestly, scratching his head. "I went to the Great Hall for dinner and..." He then blushed, embarrassed about hanging out with his female counterpart. "I spent some time with Astrid in the Forge..." He paused, his mind going blank. "And... That's all I recall."

"Well, I'll fill you in then," the man said with a thin, sarcastic tone, and Hiccup felt a sense of dread rise within him. Whatever this was about, he had no doubt it was something bad. "There I was, in the Great Hall," Stoick recounted, "minding my own business when Gobber bursts in telling me that you were passed out in his shop, naked, with Astrid in your arms!"

There was a short silence.

Hiccup's emerald eyes widened in shock and his jaw went slack. Did his father just say what he thought he said? "W-Wait, what?" He spluttered, a nervous smile tugging at his lips. "Haha! Good one Dad! You really had me there... Hehe. Um...You're...you're joking, right?"

Stoick's stony demeanor remained and what little smile Hiccup etched, faded.

"Dad, if this is a joke, I really suggest you rethink your material." Hiccup cracked another nervous smile. Stoick's expression didn't change. "No, you're not seriously suggesting that I had-" he sucked in a breath, his freckled face reddening. "That's not true; I don't remember any of that!"

"And what's more," Stoick continued with a hint of strain in his voice, "according to your cousin, Snotlout, he happened to be passing by while you and Astrid were having intercourse and heard everything." He shook his head and sighed while Hiccup desperately wracked his brain for answers.

"But Dad, you know me!" Hiccup cried, feeling his cheeks growing warm from humiliation, "I know the law, and I would never do something like that."

"Are you saying I'm lying, boy?" His father asked, his voice dangerously soft.

Hiccup remained quiet for a moment, flustered, not trusting himself to answer honestly. "No, I'm saying Snotlout's lying," he retorted slowly, reminding himself to confront his cousin about the situation later. "Gobber must be lying. I'm telling you, dad, I didn't do anything."

"Hiccup!" Stoick thundered, and his son jolted at the volume, cowering under the large man's glare. He unconsciously gripped the sides of the stool he sat upon with his fingers until his knuckles turn white. "I saw you myself! I was the one had to carry you home while you were just in your skins! Don't you tell me what you didn't do!"

After getting over his initial shock, the boy inhaled sharply. "T-Then how come I can't remember it?" He asked in frustration, clenching his auburn hair between his spidery fingers. "Seriously, if I did that with Astrid, I'm sure I'd have some sort of recollection. I don't understand it!" He was beginning to panic. Why didn't his father believe him? Surely he'd be more reliable as an honest boy than Snotlout! "Ju-Just... Go ask Astrid if you don't believe me."

"She would say the same," Stoick stated, his eyes narrowing, "And do you know why?"

Hiccup seemed to shrink in his stool. "Why?" He asked meekly, face paling.

"Because the both of you were drinking one of Gothi's elixirs!" the Chief yelled, causing Hiccup to squeak. His father was rather terrifying when he was like this. There was no telling what he would do. "It's no wonder you can't remember a thing! You were passed out by the time Gobber led me to you!"

"B-But-" Hiccup protested. "I don't even remember drinking an elixir of any kind! I was drinking water and..." He paused. "That's all!"

Stoick held up a hand, silencing his son. "Save your breath. You and Astrid have proven that you were not mature enough to be trusted alone with each other. I've seen enough."

"But Dad-!"

"Hiccup," Stoick yet again interrupted, "By the laws of Berk, I have no choice but to separate you and Astrid."

Hiccup paled. "B-But Dad..." He protested hopelessly. He felt his eyes begin to tear up and he averted his emerald eyes from his father's in hopes he wouldn't notice. "I-I like her," he choked. "You can't keep us apart."

"I can and I will. Don't question my authority," his father chided sullenly. "I'm sorry Hiccup. I know you want to be with her and I know that your relationship is important to you, but if I were in your position, I'd be worrying about Astrid."

Hiccup slowly tilted his head back up to face Stoick, who swallowed at the heartbroken expression. "A-Astrid..." He winced, picturing the girl's fury. "I-I hope she isn't mad about...you know."

"It would be foolish of her to be so," Stoick scoffed. "The lass is just as guilty as you, son. And her anger isn't as big as an issue as her physical state-"

Here, Hiccup jumped from the stool, letting it fall over with a thunk. "What?! Is she okay?" He cried in concern. "Did I hurt her?"

Stoick groaned and grabbed his son's bony shoulders, squeezing tightly, "Hiccup," he spoke slowly, surprised that his intelligent boy hadn't considered it earlier. "You had intercourse with the lass. What do you think may be happening to her? Astrid may be _pregnant_." There was a hush. Hiccup's emerald eyes grew impossibly wide and his jaw set to a firm line. As soon as Stoick slowly loosened his grip on the boy's shoulders, he could feel Hiccup immediately tensing.

For once, the Chief was silent, patiently letting the appalling truth sink in. Hiccup was slightly shaking, dazed as his mind tried to absorb the true gravity of the situation. "T-This is too crazy," he whispered, shakily sliding to the wooden floor of his home, shocked to the core. "I...I can't...believe this. First, the Red Death...now..."

Stoick knelt down to his son, sympathetically patting his lanky shoulders. Hiccup inhaled sharply, making an attempt to hold back his tears. He couldn't cry right now-he needed to be strong for his father and especially Astrid. "But how can you be sure that she's...?"

"Gothi is going to inspect her," Stoick assured him. "She has the most knowledge of this type of subject more than anyone on Berk. She'll know, even this early on." Hiccup shook his head and hugged his knees, an abundant amount of tears struggling to escape his eyes.

"D-Does Astrid know about what happened?" He whimpered faintly, hating himself for letting several sobs escape his throat. He felt such shame, humiliation, and terrible guilt begin to consume him, even though he was sure whatever did happen between them must have been some miscommunication or just a simple mistake that led to something unorthodox.

Stoick sighed and smoothed back his hair. "Aye, that she does."

So she _did_ know. The thought made Hiccup's stomach churn in the most grotesque way. "W-What happens she IS pregnant by any chance?" He asked.

"Let's not make any assumptions," The chief said firmly, "let's just pray to the Gods that she isn't. Odin knows you and Astrid aren't nearly old enough to settling down with little ones." Hiccup bit his lip. "And if she is, well, then you're going to be a father."

Hiccup's heart jolted and his breath hitched. A father. Just like his own. It sounded so strange. He'd be that person who'd have to be there for his child, to teach him or her, to raise, to nurture...

"Yeah, a father...that's separated from the mother." The boy muttered scornfully, trying to imagine he and Astrid trying to raise a child together. A lump rose in his throat. "Astrid and I haven't even been together for that long! How is she going to...?" He slapped a hand over his mouth, for a huge cry was about to escape his lips. His shoulders shook, his body wracking with silent sobs.

"H-H-How am I *hic* going to raise *hic* a child? I-I'm not even old enough to be chief yet!" He glared at his dad. "But I-I suppose that shouldn't be a problem, seeing h-how I'm not a-allowed to be w-with her."

Stoick was quiet for a moment, watching his son wither beneath his gaze. Even though he was extremely upset at his boy for disregarding his rules, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy and, dare he say, a tad bit guilty. Perhaps Hiccup never intended to do what he did with Astrid. "After all," he thought, "they were incorrigible, poisoned by Loki's drink." With a sigh, he pulled the young Viking into his arms and held him close.

"No more tears," the Chief scolded gently, placing a hand on Hiccup's chin and tilting his head upward to face him. "You need to be strong," he advised softly. "You're a Viking. If per se Astrid is indeed pregnant, than you need to be there for her. That is your child she might be carrying."

"So wait," Hiccup croaked, "are you still keeping us apart?"

Stoick thought for a moment and sighed heavily. "If you two are going to adopt the responsibilities of parenthood, than I'll have to arrange you and Astrid to be wedded."

Hiccup gasped. "Wedded? Y-You mean _married_? But I'm only fourteen! I'm too young!"

"You're also too young to be having sex without proper consent from me," Stoick pointed out. "Besides, I was your age when I married your mother. She bore you not long after. Hiccup," he said seriously, "You do know what you did was wrong."

Hiccup nodded, trying to steady his voice as he spoke, "I know, Dad. I'm sorry." He glanced away. "I know I need to be stronger, er, strong," he amended sheepishly. "I'm..." He swallowed and then gave his father his best look of determination. "I'll be there for her." Stoick nodded, and pulled his son up to his feet, er, foot.

"That's a good lad," he approved. "Now as of right now, I want you to stay inside your room for today," the Chief said, placing a hand on Hiccup's back, gently guiding him towards the stairs. "It'll give you plenty of time to think about what you've done." Hiccup groaned inwardly but obeyed his father without further comment.

Stoick watched his son trudge up the stairs, looking admittedly distressed and shook head. How did his son always manage to get himself into trouble? Seriously. He had only _now_ defeated the Red Death, and now this!

And marriage, that was another thing. If Astrid ended up bearing Hiccup's children, then they'd really have no choice but to marry.

Huh. Kinda weird. His heir would have an heir.

...

An elderly woman gently rapped on the door of the Hofferson household with her staff, patiently waiting for someone to answer. The man of the house, Egil, peeked out the door with a rather nervous expression but smiled when he noticed her presence. Egil was a rather buff Viking, but was known to be a tad bit soft. She raised an eyebrow at the weathered complexion his face possessed.

"Ah, Gothi! We were expecting ye, ye see!" He said, smiling a smile too big to be real. "I-I assume ye know what's happened between the chief's son and me daughter." The elderly women frowned and nodded, motioning to the door.

"Oh-Oh yes," Egil stuttered, tugging at his beard, "How rude of me. Come in, come in!" The woman smiled and hobbled into the man's home. "Darling!" Said man called out to his wife. "The elder has arrived to inspect our daughter!"

From somewhere in the house came a muffled yell for Egil's reply, and he winced. "H-Helga's probably busy at the moment," he apologized meekly, rubbing the back of his head. "I-I'll show ye Astrid meself. Come with me, please." He carefully led Gothi upstairs to his daughter's bedroom and gently knocked on the door.

"Astrid?" He called out softly. "The Elder is here!"

"Go away!" A hoarse, infuriated feminine voice shouted back in defiance. "I keep telling you that I didn't do anything with Hiccup!"

"Sweetie, please-" THUNK.

The sharp blade of an axe abruptly pierced through the door, causing Astrid's father to yelp in a rather un-Viking-like fashion. Gothi eyed him questioningly. The man sighed and admitted, "She's been like that all day. Ever since we told her what happened, she just kept denying and denying-the poor lass won't admit her wrongdoing."

Gothi gave him a calculated look. "Believe me, she is a very obedient and proper girl," Egil insisted. "I honestly cannot tell ye that I know what happened with her that night. It was as if she had disregarded Viking morale entirely." The older woman nodded slowly and her expression clearly meant one thing: dismissal.

"Eh, right! I'll leave ye to it then," Egil nodded, seemingly a little too eager to be heading back downstairs.

With a warm smile, Gothi gently pushed opened the wooden door and stepped into the teenage girl's room.

Astrid was sitting on the edge of her bed, hunched over, the most disturbing glare plastered onto her face. Moving her blonde bangs out of her icy azure eyes, the girl snapped, "I know why my father wants you here, and I'll tell you what, why don't I just tell you what really happened?" She growled. "And that's just it: nothing happened between Hiccup and I. Nothing, you understand?! I am a maiden."

Gothi simply frowned disapprovingly at tone of voice the girl was using with her and roughly bonked her on the head with her staff. "OW! Gothi!" Astrid yelled through her gritted teeth, rubbing at the tender area.

One look from the older woman advised Astrid to discontinue speaking. "Fine," the Viking griped, glaring at Gothi with stony anger. "Just do your thing. You'll see. I didn't do anything with him."

The Elder motioned her to lie on her back upon the bed, which Astrid did unwillingly. She noticed that the older woman kept glancing at the axe that was embedded in her door frame. "What?" She asked, "It's not like I'm gonna hurt you or anything. That's just how I take out my anger."

Gothi chuckled under her breath and placed a hand on Astrid's forehead, the other on her abdomen. She closed her eyes in deep concentration. The girl watched in curious fascination. Even though she was angry, she could not doubt Gothi's impressive ways of examination and knowledge. Gods, the woman could tell the exact date of a person's death just by looking at his or her tongue! Not that Astrid would want to know that...

The woman opened her eyes, and dread filled Astrid's being as a frown overtook Gothi's face. "I-Is everything-?" Gothi held up a hand for her to silence herself and took her hand in her own aged, wrinkled one. Deeply absorbed in the almost witchcraft-like observations, Gothi began examining the girl's fingernails, torn and bloody from all the nervous biting since that morning.

"Look, I'm telling you with every fiber of my being, I swear I did NOT engage in any sort of sexual activity with Hiccup Haddock," Astrid insisted, a blush rising to her cheeks at the thought. Gothi shook her head again. The teenager stared at her expectantly, her heart fluttering in nervousness. "What do you see?" She queried.

What happened next startled the girl: Gothi spoke. "Lass, I've seen the signs. There's really no need to deny. You did have sexual intercourse with Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III," she said quietly yet firmly. Before Astrid had the chance to deny it once again, she went on, "I also know that you may have not been aware of your actions because you have consumed one of my very non-impotent elixirs." Astrid spluttered in bewilderment, going a deep scarlet shade in the face.

"However, Astrid Hofferson, that isn't the only thing I have found."

The girl nearly choked on her own breath. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" She asked quietly. She then quickly took on a different tone and drew up to her full height, towering intimidatingly over the small woman. "You had _better_ not say what I think you're saying." She said almost threateningly.

The Elder sighed and shook her head, knowing that Astrid would flip once she heard the truth. "My dear lass. I've seen the signs and I cannot keep this knowledge from you. You are indeed pregnant with Hiccup's child."

...

**A/N: Cripes almighty, Astrid is NOT happy. Do me a favor and just imagine how her reaction would be if she finds out that Snotlout was the cause of this predicament. How will she react to seeing Hiccup since that fateful night? If he's lucky, he'll only get an axe to the knee. And yes, they will eventually find out it was the infamous Snotlout...or will they? How will Snotlout react seeing how he caused the problem? Keep reading to find out! **

**Please leave a structured, adequate review. Believe me, I love criticism but I will not take flames seriously.**

**Ps: Cripes almighty once again! Eighteen pages of work?! Hey, why don't you do your old pal Emma a favor and add my story to your favorites? Follow it! Come on, you know you want to! You know that you want to see what happens to Snotlout. You know you want to see the baby. You know you want to see fourteen-year-olds try to be parents. Oh, and don't forget the wedding! You wanna see that. Don't we all, my precious Fanrats? **

**Pss: If anyone has any suggestions for how the story might go, please leave a review and I might take it under consideration.**


	2. Mishap by Meet n' Greet

**A/N: Cripes almighty, my little Fanrats! I can feel the love tonight! Seriously. I can. In here. *points to stomach* I have never seen so many favorites and reviews and follows in such a short amount of time. I don't believe my stories have gotten this type of recognition since the Chat Room B for Best story, (which was unfortunately deleted). Oh well. Out with the old and in with the new, as I always say! Ha. I never say that... Anyway, here are the answers to the feedback: **

**Plinplan: I don't intend to make it a false alarm, don't worry. XD Astrid is pregnant for sure.**

**SharKohen: I wouldn't be surprised if Stoick exiled him for his crime if he ever finds out. But we'll see what happens! Just to throw in my personal opinion, if I were Stoick, I'd toss Snotlout in the ring alone with Astrid for ten minutes as a punishment.**

**MHJohn64th: *waves back* I know. I came into this fandom thinking that I was going to read every single solitary story. After about fourteen, it became apparent that it wasn't an option, because my brain cells were beginning to die. Thank you kindly for the review, and I...I... Did you just call me "sir"?**

**Gee, thanks man. XD I'm a girl.**

**NONAME: Holy cow, hi! I'm SO happy you're reading the story. But please, I beg of you, don't look at my other ones. It's embarrassing.**

**TheForsakenTwist1: YOU ARE NOW AN HONORARY FANRAT! WELCOME TO THE CLUB! And it looks like I've managed to drag you out of the FBCC fandom as well. Stick with me, and all your dreams will come true!**

**FluentFletcher2: I can't thank you enough for critiquing my stories. I absolutely love your feedback and I'm honored that you're now a Fanrat. If I've converted you, I've done my job.**

**G: I'll do it. *charges at Snotlout with my guard mouse* GET 'IM LANCELOT!**

**Jadesunset: Aw. Thank you so much! You are such a sweetheart! ^^ It truly warms my heart to the highest degree to know that you are enjoying the story.**

**frostonthewindow: Huh. I wonder what fandom YOU are interested in... Hold up a tic. According to you, my story is awesome, horrible, AND original? Yes! I believe I've hit the jackpot! Thank you! I'll update as soon as I can.**

**Alpha darkwolf: Dude, just to get it out of the way: I love your name. :D Anyway, I thought about what you said about Astrid and Hiccup remembering what Snotlout did to them since the elixir wasn't yet in their system. Well, I'm getting to that. And thanks for not being a flame, by the way. I hate those. You're absolutely right. Eventually, they'd have to have SOME recollection of what happened, but with everyone talking of only the aftermath, mixed with the confusion of what they did, I'm sure Snotlout would be far from their minds. But don't worry, they DO remember at some point. And in my defense, I'm not too knowledgeable over the subject of, well, being drunk. I wouldn't know. I've never been drunk. I'm a fifteen-year-old, Catholic, goody-goody Californian. Cheers to anyone else in the same boat.**

**Koollolly: Do you know how long I'VE been waiting for a story like this to be published? Twelve days. I first saw the movie about two weeks ago. Too long. Got sick of waiting so I'm doing it myself. Lol. Thank you so much for reviewing and I look forward to seeing YOU in the future!**

**A Person Who Likes Comedy: Thank you so much! And I'm sorry, (not really) but I will give nothing away, at least to you, old friend. :D**

**Casandradaytree: Thank you!**

**JD-httydFan: Thanks so much for reviewing. I'm not going to give away what happens in the future, because, well, I'm awesome and I have the authority. But hey, I can tell you that Astrid and Hiccup will be confronting each other in this chapter. Prepare yourself for the rage!**

**Well, I see you no need to further bore you to death. On with the story!**

**Oh, and a big "thank you" to those who favorite and follow the story so far. You are all such amazing Fanrats. And I mean that in the kindest possible way.**

**Again: There is no such thing as swearing in my world.**

Chapter Two: Meet n' Greet

Hiccup spent about a third of the rest of the morning lying motionless in his bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling. A million thoughts swirled about in his aching noggin at incredible speeds, much like an out-of-control water spout.

Ever since his dad had grounded him to his room and vacated the house to continue his routine of chiefly duties, Hiccup had been thinking nonstop about Astrid, the pregnancy, the separation, the marriage-UGH! He covered his burning face with his bed sheets with a groan. Why was all of this happening to him? "Oh, the Gods hate me," Hiccup muttered sourly. It was evidently too much for one boy to handle, even if that particular boy had conquered the Red Death. "I never get a break in this village. First it's a monster, now it's a baby. What next?"

Having just gained the knowledge of a copious amount of appalling things in so little time, one could imagine he didn't feel very well. But even with his own qualms, the Viking's heart twanged with sympathy for Toothless when the warbled cries of his dragon echoed from outside. "I feel your pain, Bud," he said softly and closed his emerald eyes. He wished more than ever he could just take a flight with Toothless to clear his head-even a short flight would do. His progressively healing limb hurt a lot less than it had the day before, so it wouldn't bother him as much.

Hiccup yearned to take his mind off the subject matters, but as the hours passed, it became apparent that that it wasn't going to happen. He made an attempt to divert himself from the haunting thoughts by sitting at his desk and doodling in his notebook, which would generally do a pretty good job of distracting him from his worldly matters. But even now...

He growled in aggravation and tore out a page from his notebook, crumpling it up and tossing it to the floor. He'd spaced out and unconsciously drawn a picture of Astrid. Flustered beyond belief, the young male slammed his head into the desk, mounting the pain of his headache. "Urg..." For the remainder of the morning, he preferred to spend his time rolling his pencil across his desk.

What in Odin's name had happened the night before? Did the boy really do what everyone was telling him? Or was it all a big trick to get him all flustered? The second option seemed additionally probable, however if it was done so by his friends. Stoick the Vast wasn't _that_ cruel to his son.

Now that Hiccup had been reflecting on it for awhile, he did recall spending time with Astrid in the Forge. It was exactly like how his father aforementioned, but the rest was too fuzzy to remember clearly. He did bear in mind that his dad mentioned Snotlout, and in all honesty, it did sound familiar. But he didn't want to think about that right then. All he could do was to keep praying to Odin that he would wake up and it would all turn out to be a crazy dream, but that never happened.

After a few hours of torture, Hiccup was tempted to steal out the window of his room and catch a ride on Toothless, even if it meant going behind his father's back. He needed to clear his head. However, his dad burst in on him out of the blue before he could do anything. "Hiccup!" Stoick cried out as he shoved the door open. His son squawked in surprise at his dad's noisy entrance and regained his balance before he toppled over from shock. How on Berk did he not hear his dad's ominous, thundering footsteps?

"GAH! D-Dad!" The adolescent Viking held a small, freckled hand over his bony chest and took a deep breath before saying wittily, "Y-You keep doing that and I'll die of a heart attack before I turn fifteen." Stoick didn't seem to hear him. He was breathless, leaning over for a moment and holding a large hand, indicating that he needed to catch his breath.

"Hiccup," he repeated once he was situated.

"D-Don't hold anything back," Hiccup encouraged nervously.

Stoick clasped his meaty hands together and took a deep breath. "I just came back from Gothi's." Gothi's? Hiccup did a double take and began to stutter. She had already inspected Astrid? That was sooner than he expected. Everything was speeding along much too quickly for his taste.

"Buh-Why-wha...w-what did she sa-a-tell you!?" He forced out, nervous by his father's expression. It was a mixture of trepidation, apprehension, and...something else.

"Son... Gothi inspected the young lass and she came to me with the results," he paused, waiting for Hiccup's reaction. "It wasn't even close. She told me that the results were definite and that..." Hiccup was surprised that there was no fierce anger, or 'fear me' vibe to the Viking chief's usually intimidating voice. It was no longer a harsh bark. Now, it was the comforting vibe of a father trying to soothe his only son. "I'm so sorry, son. Astrid is..."

"YES...?" Hiccup squeaked nervously, his heart pounding away in his chest with anticipation. He knew what his father was going to say, however, hearing the man saying it aloud would be more confirming. His dad looked him right in the eye and the boy flinched. What was up with that gleam?

"It seems as though we need to start planning the wedding, for Astrid is going to bear you a child, Hiccup," Stoick alleged firmly, vigilantly studying his son's reaction. He didn't expect him to break down or cry, but he might've anticipated a bit of angry shouting, punches to the walls, and things of that nature.

His son did neither. He didn't even pipe up a retort. As an alternative, Hiccup inaudibly sat down on the edge of the bed, his emerald eyes locked on the floor. It was the same reaction he had experienced when he woke up with one less limb. There was first shock, then disbelief, then...trying not to let it show that it bothered him. Stoick paced over to him and placed a burly hand on the scrawny teen's shoulders. "Son," he initiated after a moment of silence. "You know what this means, do you?"

Hiccup swiveled his gaze from the floorboards to his father's, who puzzled over the unclear expression on his boy's face. "I...I think so," he answered softly, yet firmly in a way. "I have to...marry Astrid, don't I?"

"She can't raise that child on her own, Hiccup," Stoick implied, still unable to interpret the expression on Hiccup's face. It wasn't of necessity, dread, or anger at all. It was this stare he'd seen before in battle, in warriors who would try to keep a calm head before the bloodbath would begin. Only Hiccup did not possess any rage or vigor. "She needs a strong male who can look after her and her child. She needs to be kept safe."

Hiccup said, "Well, between you and me, I'm not sure Astrid needs much help protecting herself."

Stoick rubbed a hand over his worn-out eyes. "This is serious, Hiccup. You need to set her and your child as your first priority. The dragons come second." Toothless let out a cry from outside. "Yeah, I said it!" Stoick barked. "Vikings before dragons, that's all I ask of you. At this rate, by the time the child is born, winter will be upon us. That's not safe. You know how hazardous it is for a child to be birthed in the winter.

"I know. I'll...think of something." Hiccup stared impassively at the floor for a second time before saying, "I don't think I can stay in here anymore, Dad. Since there's nothing for me to do, I can't get my mind off of..." He trailed off, not bothering to say it.

Stoick nodded in understanding, patting his lanky son on the back. "Alright then, we'll discuss it later. Why don't you make yourself useful and go down to the Smithy? I'm sure Gobber could make more use of your...skills." He had intended to say brawn, but evidently, Hiccup had none of that either.

The teenager nodded stiffly and exited without another word. "C'mon Toothless," he called to his Nightfury as he went outside. The dragon was situated by the front step, almost as if he were anticipating his arrival. "Let's go to Gobber's." He pondered over his dad's expression: shock, fear, awe, and…what was that other thing? Pride? Yeah, right. "Maybe he's just happy that I finally become a man in some aspect," Hiccup theorized with a roll of his eyes.

Strolling through the village plaza was something that Hiccup had done hundreds of times in his lifetime, but not once had he done so without people whispering his name as he walked past, either with awe of excitement, or both. And even before that, it was in disgust and contempt. Now, everyone looked surprised and suspicious. Toothless seemed to notice and growled at the passerby's that whispered.

"Oh great, that's just what I need," Hiccup thought sarcastically, blowing his auburn bangs out of his eyes, "More reminders of what we did. Snotlout probably blabbed off to the whole village and told them that the Chief's son is a promiscuous drunk. Just when I thought I could get my mind off of...it." He bit his lip and tried to hurry along quickly and quietly with his head down until he reached the Forge.

Gobber was pounding away at some iron with his interchangeable tool-kit for a hand when the youngster arrived. "Hey there, Gobber! I heard you needed some help," Hiccup greeted quickly, grabbing his apron and putting it on. "Haven't seen you since..." He chuckled uneasily, feeling idiotic for bringing up the other night's state of affairs. Couldn't he just have a fresh start? Toothless peered up at his master, mystified by his skittish behavior.

"Since I found ye butt-naked on the floor of me smithy?" Gobber suggested with a smirk, pausing his hammering to reply. "Yeah, that was a real shocker. I nearly lost me cool."

Toothless's green eyes widened and he warbled, nudging Hiccup's leg with his nose.

"W-What are you looking at?" Hiccup hissed in discomfiture at the dragon, "Go lie down!" The Nightfury obeyed, but not before giving his human a suspicious look.

"Y-Yeah," Hiccup blushed awkwardly, turning his attention back to the man. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about...y-you know..."

"Ah, it's all good, lad!" Gobber exclaimed good-naturedly, slapping the boy had on the back, which caused him to topple into a pile of bolas.

"U-Uh, really?"

"I know you meant nothing of it. At least it was less disturbing then Mildew's incident. Euyuh..." The younger Viking shuddered, unwanted images entering his mind.

"Is that so? Well, thanks for that. Good to know," Hiccup shrugged, trying to force the idea of the blacksmith seeing him in _that_ kind of state while detangling himself from the bolas.

"So. Tell me, what did your father have to say about it?" Gobber asked thoughtfully, handing Hiccup an axe to sharpen. The teenager stared at it for a moment, the dangerous weapon reminding him of Astrid. He swallowed thickly, feeling rather light-headed.

"Well, turns out he wants me to marry her," he mumbled incoherently, straining under the weight of the axe as he began to sharpen it. "Nothing more to add to that."

Gobber guffawed loudly in amusement, and Hiccup's forest-green eyes narrowed irritably. "Oh, that's what ye get, boy, for "servicing" her!" The boy grunted in response, his freckled cheeks darkening to a brilliant burgundy.

"I fail to see the humor in this, Gobber. There's more to it than that. I just found out that's she's pregnant."

Gobber nodded, to Hiccup's surprise. "Oh I know! Gothi told me. Looks like you're going to have an extra set of footprints around yer house," he replied casually.

"Oh, thanks Gothi," Hiccup muttered, mentally cursing the old woman. Why is it that Gobber heard the news before he did? "At least you seem to be taking this unimaginably well," he grumbled sarcastically. He then lifted the axe, its blade smooth and sharp. "Done."

He carefully gave the axe to his boss, who inspected it closely before handing it off to its owner outside. "Thank ye! Come again!" He noticed Hiccup's flustered, angry expression and couldn't help but smirk. "Hey. You are the one that got yerself into this situation."

"Ugh, I get it! Oh, for the love of-It's not funny, Gobber!" Hiccup cried, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation.

"Ah no, ye've got it all wrong. It's not as if situation _itself_ is comical," Gobber tried to amend, "It's the fact that _ye_ get yourself involved. That's what makes it humorous!"

Hiccup stared at him in confusion before asking dryly, "What, so it's funny to see Hiccup the Useless in pain again?" He sighed and ran his fingers through his auburn hair. "Oh Gods... Some things just never change."

Gobber nodded, trying hiding his amused smirk and ultimately failing. "You know what this all means, don't you Hiccup? You got a big responsibility on your shoulders that you need to uphold," said the blacksmith, taking on a more serious note, "It's time to step up and be a man for your lady."

"I didn't do that with the whole "Red Death" thing for the village?" Hiccup asked, rolling eyes for the hundredth time.

"Yes, ye did," Gobber admitted hastily. "But now is even more important. Because ye are protecting one of yer own. Yer own flesh and blood! A helpless baby who can't defend itself, unlike a village of strong, mighty Vikings! Though, we do thank ye for that."

Hiccup cracked a grin and folded his arms. "You're welcome."

"Lad, ye need to prepare for the next chapter of yer life. No more playing around. Now, I've never had kids of me own, but I've watched you and the other riders grow up, so I can tell ye, they are quite a handful. Astrid will need yer help. Not only will ye need to step up and become a mature man, but a husband, and a father." Hiccup winced. That word again. He felt a strange reaction whenever it was being directed at him. It simply didn't seem to fit with "Hiccup". At least Gobber wasn't laughing at him again.

"Well, thank you for summing that up," he said, grinning toothily at Gobber. There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in the boy's voice. The man smiled back at his apprentice and focused his attention on a bent sword handle while Hiccup began to polish the iron used to make Viking helmets. "Anytime," Gobber replied.

Hiccup wasn't positive if the talk he and Gobber had made him feel any better. In fact, he wasn't at all sure of what exactly he was feeling. It was sort of this fluttery sentiment in his stomach mixed with a concoction of dread.

The next five minutes were pretty uneventful, until:

"HICCUP!" Said boy jerked his head up to see his female partner-in-crime stomping towards him with the angriest look he had ever seen her convey. Her brows furrowed, her pearly-white teeth grinding together to near powder; she almost resembled an angry bull charging toward him at top speed.

"Oh...Gods," Hiccup moaned feebly as she approached him. He turned to his boss for help, not caring if it made him look weak in any way. Then again, he didn't need much help in that department. "G-Gobber? Help a fellow Viking ou-AHH!"

With an enraged yell, Astrid ferociously slammed the crook of her axe against his throat, forcing and then pinning him helplessly to the wall of the Forge. He dared to open his eyes, emerald meeting icy blue. He managed a weak grin. "H-Hey Astrid," he chuckled nervously. Her infuriated glare did not waver, and he gulped as the blade pressed deeper into his jugular. "H-Help!" He squeaked. Toothless growled dangerously and started to creep up on them.

Luckily, Gobber intervened before the girl could slice the young boy's head off and before Toothless could attack. "Alright, ye two. Break it up," he ordered firmly, gripping Astrid's arm and forcing her away from the chieftain heir. Hiccup gasped for air, rubbing at his neck feverishly. "That's it. Calm down."

Toothless continued to growl until Hiccup eased him. "Whoa... It's okay, Bud. I'm alright."

Astrid snarled much like a Deadly Nadder, her demeanor representing that of a thundercloud. Her entire body was tensed, and Gobber sensed that she urged to assault Hiccup once more, so he yanked the axe away from her before she could cause any more harm.

"Wha-? Give that back!" The blonde growled, swiping her fingers towards her beloved weapon of choice. Gobber fortunately held it just out of reach as the girl began to pound his chest with her fists. "Give. That. Back. To. Me. Right. Now!" She seethed with each punch. The punches themselves seemed to leave little impact on the blacksmith and he rolled his eyes. Hiccup watched in distress, his emerald eyes widening with fright.

"Yer not gettin' this back. Not until ye've calmed yerself down, and you and Hiccup have had a talking to!" Gobber said firmly, placing her axe on the highest shelf-the one she couldn't reach even if she jumped. Despite Hiccup's protests, Gobber vehemently grabbed one of the teen's scrawny shoulders and dragged Astrid by her arm to the small room at the back of the Forge: Hiccup's private nook.

"Now," the man said, shoving the two to the ground. "I don't want to see either of ye out of this room until whatever's broken between you two has been welded back together. I'm locking the door-"

"No, wait! Do-don't do that!" Hiccup cried fearfully, glancing at the steaming girl beside him. "You know, t-there are plenty of other ways we could work this out! Uh, outside perhaps? With uh, tons of witnesses?"

Gobber shook his head. "You need to work out whatever's going on between the two of you. And ye'd better do it quick, because I'm not going to open the door until ye do." And with that said, he shut the door, only to open it back up a moment later, "One more thing," he added quickly, "I don't want to hear any strange sounds that may indicate any nasty business!" And he locked the door, subsequent to shutting it.

Astrid inhaled deeply through her nose, giving a death glare to the trembling male who'd by now scooted as far away from her as possible in a corner. "You..." She pointed a rigid finger at him, her teeth gritted, "You SON of a HALF-TROLL!" With a potent battle cry that Odin himself may have heard, she flung herself at him with intention of beating the boy to a bloody pulp.

Hiccup shrieked out of extreme fear and just managed to avoid the superiority of her fists by leaping to the side at the last second. With a yelp, he sought out refuge from under his desk and crawled underneath, grabbing one of the wooden legs. "HICCUP!" Astrid screamed, reaching down and grabbing a fistful of his auburn hair. "You are SO going to regret you ever MET me!"

"I doubt thaAA-Astrid! Owowowow! D-Don't!" The male cowered, shielding his face with his puny arms as she dragged him out from under the desk with ease. "Think about what you're doing!" He started to panic, knowing that Astrid to kill him if she wanted to. It would only take the snap of his neck and the right amount of anger to do the deed, and at the present, she was fully capable of doing it. She pinned his right shoulder on the ground with her foot and hovered dangerously above him.

He stopped struggling for a moment to peer up at her in awe and fear. Her crazed blue eyes stared back down at him in fury; add that to her bangs and hair messed up and matted, plus her heavy breathing, she looked absolutely insane.

"Da-da-da. I'm dead," he thought hopelessly.

"You are DEAD, Haddock!" Astrid yelled. "I am gonna KILL you!"

Point confirmed.

"C-Can't we talk about-!?" He stopped short when she gripped him by the green tunic and forcefully yanked him upward. His noodle arms flailed at his sides uselessly, his legs seemingly had gone numb. A heavy punch in the face was his response, and the boy crumpled to the floor in a heap, pain spreading throughout the rest of his trembling body. Add that to the faint headache and stomachache he already had, he felt downright terrible. "Astrid...stop."

Astrid breathed heavily, her uncontrolled frenzy slowly flickering out when she took in Hiccup's pain, but leaving an unwavering fury dwelling within her. He groaned sluggishly, covering his now bruised cheek with one hand, the other supporting him as he tried to sit up.

Astrid's heart beat quickened to a rate it hadn't beat in a while, the last time being was when she wasn't picked to kill her first dragon. When Hiccup beat her. "You deserved that," she growled when he stared up at her in fear. "What you did-I'll never forget it, Haddock. I never will."

"W-What I did?" Hiccup gasped, his right cheek throbbing. As soon as he said it, he immediately regretted it. "A-Astrid! You know we never meant to do anything like that. It wasn't my fault!" She gave him a ferocious glare and he added meekly, "At least, not my fault...entirely."

"Oh yeah?" Astrid challenged, leaning over him. "You never meant to get me pregnant? To impregnate me with your-"

"NO! Nonono!" Hiccup insisted, cowering greatly underneath the dominating female. "You…you know me. I would never have done anything like that on purpose, and especially not behind my father's back. I'm better than that!"

"Well, who was the one who got us drunk?" She snarled, kicking his side, causing him to yelp. "Who got us so incarcerated that we were stupid enough to have sex? I've heard in some places the men drug the women's drinks so they can easily take advantage. And you know what? I think that might be the case here, _Hiccup_." He swallowed hard, noticing the way she spat out his name.

"Wait, you think I did it?" Hiccup gasped, feeling so besmirched. He knew that she was mad at him, but he would've never guessed that she thought he of all people was the mastermind behind this. "L-Look, my memory of that night may be filled with as many holes as a…fine Swiss cheese, but I swear I'm not that kind of guy," he protested. "I would never EVER do that to you!"

"Yeah?" She challenged once more, raising her foot to smash his stomach. "Thanks to you, my family now thinks that I'm some sort of promiscuous wench. T-That I'm not a proper girl!" Astrid swallowed hard, tears smarting at the corners of her icy blue eyes. "B-Because of you, my name in the village is just about tarnished. I could feel everyone staring at me when I came over here!"

Though Hiccup would never admit it to her, it _was_ rather hard to miss Astrid when she was thundering through the village with an axe in hand, complete with a murderous look on the side. It was quite a sight.

"Same here," Hiccup replied awkwardly, hating himself for saying so, because he wasn't the one with the evidence under his tunic. "I know... I get it. People were whispering about me when I was walking through the village." He closed his eyes, feeling extremely guilty, fists clenching and tears bubbling up behind his eyelids. Why on Berk wouldn't she believe him when he said he would never attempt to hinder her happiness?

"You have to believe me when I say that I would never hurt you on purpose! Be-Because of what you'd think of me, a-and what that'd do to us, to y-you mostly, and just because...I just…" He scrunched his eyes tighter, a single tear escaping. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve. Why couldn't he be poetic and just speak his mind? "I just-just... I love you, Astrid!" He blurted.

Astrid paused, her boot hovering above his heaving abdomen, disbelief evident on her face. Her reaction was not what he anticipated. "You love me?" She scoffed. "I doubt it. We've only been together for like, two days."

"I've liked you for a much longer time than you might think," the Viking insisted nervously, propping himself up on his elbows. "Ever since we were little, y-you were the only one who really s-stood out. I-I mean, I think that um, you're the only one that's left a real impact on me, whether it was physically or mentally."

Despite her anger, Astrid smirked, knowing she had left behind a significant amount of bruises on his body in their lifetime. "I-I like you." After gazing into her gleaming blue eyes, he respectively bowed his head in submission. "I really like you," he confessed, "a lot. And I'm really, really sorry that you're...well...you know." He stopped, not knowing what else to say.

Astrid tilted her head to the side, looking for any indication that he was playing with her head. Was what he said, true? The warrior knew that Hiccup wasn't always one for being a good liar, and here he was, sputtering and beet-red in the face. Her eyes narrowed. Then again, he always sounded like this whilst speaking with her: awkward and shy. Perhaps he was telling the truth after all. Astrid rolled her eyes and flipped her bangs to the side. "You swear you're telling the truth?" She asked slowly, her voice bordering on the tone of a threat.

Hiccup nodded vigorously, his auburn hair bobbing in rhythm almost comically.

Astrid looked down upon for a moment more before crossing her arms and leering. "You'd better be. News spreads remarkably fast in Berk, wouldn't you say?"

Hiccup wasn't sure if she was trying to submit humor or irony into the conversation, but he grinned a dorky grin for her anyway, and to his great relief, she gave a small smile of amusement in return. "Don't think that I'm going to forgive you just yet for this." She gestured to her stomach.

"I don't blame you," the fourteen-year-old male sighed. "Can I stand up now?" The teenage girl gave a nod of encouragement and Hiccup grunted as he pulled himself up to his feet, er, foot. "So, um... Does this mean-OW!" Astrid had slugged him hard on the shoulder. "W-What was that for?" Hiccup breathed, rubbing tenderly at his shoulder. Even he knew that was a dumb question.

"That was for getting me pregnant, genius," Astrid reminded him through narrowed eyes. Hiccup felt silly waiting for the usual kiss that would follow after, because her piercing glare remained.

"Great, I really blew it this time. Typical Hiccup the Screw-up," he was tempted to say, but the boy held his tongue. "Um... Okay then," Hiccup said inelegantly, clasping his hands together. "Sh-should we get Gobber, or...?"

Astrid turned her nose in the air and bumped past him on her way to the door. Hiccup followed disappointedly, aware that she wasn't willing to forgive him just yet. He couldn't say he didn't blame her, though. "Hey Gobber!" Astrid shouted with deafening volume that made the other Viking's ears ring. "We've welded, or whatever it is you said we needed to do!"

There was the sound of fumbling about, and then Gobber's voice from the other side of the door. "Lemme hear Hiccup say something!" the muffled voice ordered, "Ah need to know if he's still alive in there."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and answered, "I'm fine, Gobber. Can we come out now?" The click of a lock coming undone was his response and he pushed the door open.

"Hiccup!" Gobber greeted happily, "Ye survived! I thought fer sure ye'd be a corpse by the end of it!"

Hiccup shrugged, trying his best not to lose his cool with the man. "Yeah, well Astrid and I talked, and I think we've come to a..." He glanced at Astrid. "...a stalemate of some sort." The girl gave him a look and he shrugged. It was the truth, after all.

Toothless bounded up to him, warbling happily to see that his master was still living. Hiccup grinned weakly as the dragon nuzzled him, and he held him close. "Don't worry about me, bud."

"Ahem," Astrid snorted and turned to Gobber with her hand outstretched. "You heard him. It's all good. I'll take my axe back now." The man shrugged and plucked said weapon from the top shelf, tossing it to her carelessly. She caught it with ease and turned her back to go.

"Hold on a moment, lass. That thing needs to be sharpened." The girl glanced at him penetratingly before observing her axe. The blade now looked blunt as could be, completely foil to the usually clean, sharp edge it earlier it possessed.

"Wha-? It didn't look like this when I arrived!" Astrid protested, rotating it in her hands. "It was perfectly fine before I got here, and I should know! I sharpened it just for the occasion." She glared at the blacksmith suspiciously.

"Yeah, she did. Trust me," Hiccup muttered, rubbing his neck. Gobber merely snickered, swiping the axe from the girl's hands once more. "Hey, give that back!"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Gobber laughed, wagging a finger at her. "Look at the state of that thing! It seems like somebody's hammered it in from both sides! It looks like your weapon of choice needs immediate repair. Why don't you stay awhile and let Hiccup fix it for you?" He asked pleasantly, shoving the axe in Hiccup's weakening arms. Astrid swiveled her gaze from Gobber's to Hiccup's, who nearly yelped at her abruptness.

"G-Gobber..." Hiccup muttered warningly. He had always adored the blacksmith and highly valued the way he solved problems, but this was beginning to worsen.

"Ah'm sure it'd be no trouble, ay Hiccup?" Gobber said, nudging the boy. Not meeting Astrid's eyes, the young Viking shook his head and cautiously carried the teenage girl's axe to the stone rotunda that would sharpen said weapon. The last thing he wanted was to spend more time in the presence of a person who'd tried to murder him earlier. But not wanting to make Astrid believe he wanted her gone, he carried out Gobber's wishes and began to sharpen the weapon.

Toothless parked himself right beside Hiccup, eyeing Astrid warily.

Knowing she couldn't do much to the male with the Nightfury guarding him, Astrid grunted and leaned back against a wooden beam with her rigid arms crossed, observing the chieftain heir with a scowl plastered on her face. Hmph. The runt was quieter than she expected him to be. She grinned inwardly. "I scared the living daylights out him," she chuckled to herself. "Good. He deserves it."

Hiccup's emerald eyes never left the axe; his head remained bowed in acquiescence. He was afraid of what Astrid might've done if he glanced up for even a moment. The last thing he wanted was to give her another excuse to beat him senseless a second time. However, even with his head bowed, Hiccup could feel Astrid's hard-set, unwavering stare eyeing him down, causing him to feel fairly uncomfortable indeed. "Just keep your eyes down," he thought to himself.

Unmistakably, Astrid disliked the silence Hiccup was exhibiting, since she started to inch her way closer to him. The other Viking pretended not to notice and continued on with his work. But it soon became clear she was not going to relent until he spoke up. Typical Viking stubbornness. He sighed in defeat, daring to tilt his head upward to gaze into her eyes. "Yes?"

"I want to know what your dad said," The girl stated curiously. "About all…this." She gestured to her stomach. "When I heard that your dad found out what we did, I thought you'd be exiled before you would even get a chance to defend yourself."

Hiccup's eyes flickered to her abdomen and sucked in a breath. "He was pretty mad at first, until it sunk in that you and I were pretty incoherent by the time we did…that." He blushed heavily at the prospect. "But he's not _that_ cruel."

"So he didn't punish you or anything?" Astrid asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "My parents won't be letting me ride Stormfly anytime soon. I just thought that because your dad is the chief and all-"

"-You thought my punishment would be worse?" Hiccup finished, cracking a small grin. "He hasn't exactly said anything to me yet, but I'm sure he's got something up his sleeve."

"Right," Astrid nodded, "I hope you get grounded. It's only fair."

"Pfft. Right…"

"How did you feel when he told you the news? Scared? Worried?" She folded her arms. "I want all the details, Haddock."

"As if that mattered," Hiccup muttered sarcastically. "Basically, he told me Gothi inspected you and the results were conclusive." He gulped, wondering whether or not he should tell her about his dad's plan for marrying them off without their consent. "I was…scared. I guess. I don't know. I'm not sure what to think at this point. But anyway, he started going off about responsibility, and strength, and… H-He, um…" He paused, taking a deeper breath before confessing, "It may come to be a bit of a shocker, but long story short, he informed me that we are going to be…w-wedded. So that way we could take care of our baby together."

The blonde stiffened considerably, and Hiccup held her axe close to his chest in case he needed to use it. Though, he would never actually hurt Astrid, even if he wanted to, which he didn't. "And…and then what?" she breathed, trying to see if he would fill in the empty void of her question.

Hiccup let out a big breath of air, not even realizing he had been holding it in.

"And then I came here," he continued, relieved that she hadn't even punched him yet.

"No," Astrid said, "I mean, what did you say?" Out of fear, Hiccup didn't answer, averting his gaze to the weapon that lay upon his lap. "Hiccup?" The girl placed a callused hand over the weapon and the boy flinched, his eyes meeting hers. His fear of her struck a chord in her heart. "I know this is going to sound weird and all, considering what I just did, but you don't need to pretend to be scared of me."

That got Hiccup's attention. He didn't need to pretend? _Pretend_? "I'm not pretending!" He blurted. Astrid blinked as if this was news to her. "I never pretended! Y-You DO scare me, Astrid!" He was beginning to get flustered all over again. "You're the most feared warrior I've ever met in my life! Why _wouldn't_ I be intimidated? I mean, when you're not punching me, you're threatening me, and when you're not doing THAT, I'm afraid you'll start threatening me, and when you're not doing THAT, you're trying to murder me, and when you're not doing THAT-MMPH!"

Astrid had been listening to all his rambling and found that the only way to shut him up was to press her lips against his. His emerald eyes popping, he struggled against her, but due to her stubbornness, their connection remained intact. Her right hand caught hold of his flailing, trembling one and held it warmly. Though distressed, Hiccup couldn't help the warmth that exploded across his face. Slowly pulling away, Astrid chuckled at the bewildered expression on his scarlet, freckled face. "You need to stop freaking out over everything," she teased, smoothly rubbing his cheek with her thumb.

Hiccup snapped out of his pleasure-induced trance and shot back dryly, "Oh, you're the one to talk. Besides, who wouldn't freak out about being a fourteen-year-old father?"

Astrid sneered at him and she raised her fist, preparing to slug him in the shoulder, but stilled. Did he honestly deserve another bruise for being concerned? For being...afraid? "Actually, you're right."

Hiccup did a double take. "I-I am?"

"Yeah," Astrid flipped her blonde bangs to the side, watching in amusement as the boy blushed. "I guess I do owe you one for the whole trying-to-chop-your-head-off escapade."

The male Viking smiled, cocking his head to the side. "You owe me a one-what?" He bit his tongue, careful not to enrage the girl any further.

Astrid gave him a tired look, signifying that she wasn't all too happy with what she was about to say. "Pfft...I'm sorry, Hiccup. Happy now?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, handing her the axe. "Sort of." Astrid took her weapon gratefully, shooting a nasty look at Gobber, who was watching the two. "I guess I'm still a little freaked out about the whole marriage thing. Based on what my dad said, he's gonna start planning it soon."

"Yeah, right," Astrid sighed. "And you agreed? Just like that?"

"I…I didn't really say anything," Hiccup admitted, scratching behind Toothless's ears. "I get that makes me sound weak, but it was a lot to take in, you know? Besides, he's the chief, who just so happens to be my father. I wasn't sure how to react. I mean, how did you feel when your parents told you that we...?"

"I felt like I wanted to kill you."

Great. "I'm honestly not that surprised, what with Snotlout overhearing what we did and all," the male Viking disclosed without thinking.

Astrid noticeably paled and she gasped, moving a hand to cover her mouth. "H-He heard us?" She whispered in shock to this new blow. Once again, she could feel her anger escalating as mortification washed over her like a tidal wave. "Is there anything else I need to know?" She snapped, not giving Hiccup a chance to answer. "That's so disgusting!" She tightened her grip on her axe and growled, "He better not tell any of the other dragon riders or so help me, if I ever catch that little, snot-faced rodent—"

"Hey lovebirds! I heard my name!" A familiar arrogant, haughty voice entered the already tense atmosphere and Hiccup couldn't help but mutter, "Oh Gods…" Snotlout strolled on up, the biggest smirk plastered on his face. There couldn't have been a worse time for him to make an appearance.

"Astrid—" Hiccup started to give her a warning, but Astrid had already pinned down the burly boy with her axe to his throat. Snotlout screeched in surprise and terror as the pressure increased on his jugular.

"Snotlout, I swear to the Gods," Astrid seethed, "If you even think about telling Fishlegs or the twins, you'll be pushing up daisies before you can even—"

"ASTRID!" The girl paused. Looking over her shoulder to find her partner standing over her, one of his freckled hands gently touching her own, the one holding the axe. "I don't think he told anyone other than my dad, okay? Just calm down, please. That's the second Haddock you've attacked today."

"Please, he couldn't fight me even if he wanted to," Astrid snapped, but reluctantly pulled away. Hiccup heard his cousin's sharp intake of breath. "And your family tends to get on my bad side."

Hiccup's emerald eyes narrowed as Snotlout tried to sit up, but failed miserably. "Look, the last thing we need to do is initiate a fight. He wasn't even involved."

Snotlout lay frozen at Hiccup's words, his heart beating fifty beats per second, if that was even physically possible. Did they know it was he who caused this entire problem? If that were the case, he'd be six feet under or set on a pyre. But no, Astrid was now getting up off of him, her expression remaining rigid, but her fists lowering. The hefty Viking finally sat up and scrambled to his feet. "Tell that to him," she snorted in detest, turning away.

The children barely noticed the blacksmith listening in on their conversations. Gobber, who was hammering away this whole time, was no longer paying attention to what the young teens were doing because he caught sight of the Chief approaching the Forge. "Stoick!" He greeted cheerfully, glancing over his shoulder to see if the teens had noticed, which they hadn't. "Heard yer goin' to wed Hiccup and Astrid. Good luck with that."

Stoick rolled his eyes, observing the children arguing with each other. They took no notice of him. "How is the lass taking it?" He asked in concern. After all, he knew that Astrid was famous for her somewhat uncontrollable temper and skills as a warrior. Even though he was ashamed to admit it, she could best his son in a fight easily.

Gobber shrugged. "Eh. She's not taking it too well. They've still got things that need to be worked out between the two of em'. As for Hiccup, well, he's still taking it in. Poor kids. They're far too immature for such a big responsibility of raising little ones."

"I raised Hiccup when I was two years his senior," Stoick bristled, not sure if this was to defend them or not, "If I could do it, I'm sure they can too. They just need proper guidance and instruction." Gobber raised an eyebrow. "They need to grow up."

"That's a lot to ask from two fourteen-year-olds," the blacksmith put in, stealing a glance at said teens. "Especially ones that are so wild and free-spirited. Ah know Hiccup, and he's not exactly what you'd call mature. Not in a bad way or anything. But he tends to rush into things without thinking. No offense. Astrid is even more immature. At least he can keep a calm head in a tough situation. She just attacks people when she doesn't like what they're doing. How is she going to deal with a baby without firing up like a Monstrous Nightmare?"

Stoick was unnerved, although he could understand Gobber's concerns. "I believe Astrid will be fully capable of taking care of a baby. I'll teach my son all he needs to know," the chieftain insisted. "I know he can do it. He defeated the Red Death, he can do this."

"Oh yeah, he's always been good at _destroying_ things, but ah don't see how that's going to help with raising a child," Gobber pointed out, and then lowered his voice. "Not to mention, winter is coming. Astrid will have to give birth then."

Stoick nodded. "I've already thought of that, Gobber. Hiccup himself was born in the winter and _he_ survived, no matter how much of a fishbone he turned out to be."

"Pray to the Gods she doesn't need to deliver during a storm then," Gobber said. The chieftain nodded, having thought about it before. "The little one would never survive."

"I understand that, Gobber. But by that point in time, they would have already been married and sleeping under the same roof. My roof."

"Yer roof," Gobber repeated, tapping down his fake tooth with a hammer. "Yeah, again, good luck with that."

Stoick gave him a look, not sure if he was being insulted or not.

"So when is the wedding, eh?" Gobber asked, willing to change the subject. "Hiccup told me it'd probably be soon. Might as well get it done and over with before they're tempted to try anything nasty again."

"Gobber!" Stoick exclaimed, his eyes flaring. "The only reason Hiccup and Astrid did what they did we because of that blasted elixir. Nothing else!" He insisted, poking his friend in the chest. "I'm not quite sure when to schedule the ceremony, but the sooner they're wedded, the better." He sighed, "I'm worried about what the rest of the village thinks of it."

"The village?" Gobber raised an eyebrow. "Yer worried about what the _village_ thinks?"

"Yes, because what Hiccup does always reflects on me, and I don't want to be seen as a bad father because of it. And of course I want my son to be a good example for the other children. After all, he's going to be Chief someday. So I want to marry them off as soon as possible before people are convinced that what they did was vulgar."

"Ah don't think that's necessary, since the entire village has already got the word," Gobber pointed out. Stoick shifted slightly. "And what they did _was_ vulgar. But you're the Chief. Whatever you decide, ah'll stand by ye."

The chieftain smiled, relieved. "Good. I've made arrangements to speak to Astrid's mother and father about the marriage and strike a deal. I think the price of the bride will lower considerably, due to her state." His gaze drifted to his son, his cousin, and the girl, all-squabbling like Terrible Terrors competing for a salmon. "But I don't even mind that now. If the kids weren't planning to be wedded, Hiccup could have been in danger." It was Viking tradition, or habit. If an unmarried couple slept together, the girl's family had the right to murder the boy if he refused to marry their daughter. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. "I just hope it all works out."

"Ah'm sure it will," Gobber assured the other Viking. "We're Vikings! Ye always tell me that we can crush mountains, tame oceans-what's a wedding compared to all that?" Stoick chuckled.

"Aye, it's much more complicated than that, old friend," the chief said. "But thank you." The two adult Vikings looked over to the teens and laughed heartily. "Well, I'll leave you to them then," he said, turning his back to the Forge.

"Wait! Stoick!"

Stoick paused. "Yes, Gobber?"

The blacksmith motioned towards Hiccup and Astrid with a concerned gaze. "Ye aren't still separating them 'till the wedding, aren't ye?" Stoick shook his head and lumbered away.

"I believe it's too late for that now," the Chief muttered.

...

Snotlout was looking back and forth between the two with a smug smile. He had been eavesdropping on their conversation and couldn't help but join in to soak up the sweet, _sweet _degradation of what he had caused between the two of them.

Unfortunately, he arrived at a particularly bad time. Now he was busy trying to defend himself.

"Look, it wasn't my decision for you guys to make love in the Forge," Snotlout snapped. "That isn't my fault! I just happened to be walking along and just so happened to hear."

Astrid wasn't about to let him off so easily. "I don't care what you heard. You are NOT going to tell Fishlegs or the twins or anybody else about what happened, do you understand me?"

"Fine, fine," the boy waved off her order like it was nothing significant. "Sheesh. You gotta work on your anger management, Astrid. Before you try to hurt anyone else."

Astrid balled her fists, her patience at her wits end. "Thank you, Snotlout, for that observation," Hiccup said sarcastically, gently tugging his partner away from his cousin. "But I don't believe that's any of your business."

Snotlout snorted. "Not my business?" He asked.

"No, it isn't," Hiccup said stiffly. "As a matter of fact, my personal life isn't your business either."

"How is your personal life not my business?" The other male questioned haughtily, "We're family, remember? Cousins? Don't you think I'd have a right to know what's happening in your life? Don't you think that I should have the right to know what my cousin has been doing with his girlfriend?"

The fishbone of a Viking reddened considerably and exerted a look of sternness. "It's not a matter of rights, Snotlout. It's a matter of trust."

Snotlout rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance. "Please, it's not like I don't know what's going on. My dad was told by Stoick this morning." It was all Hiccup could do to keep from rolling his eyes. There were no secrets on Berk these days.

"You two are being separated as punishment for your actions," the burly boy said with a smirk. "But by the looks of it, you aren't exactly following the law, are you?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You haven't been updated on our punishment, haven't you?" He asked dryly.

Snotlout crossed his arms, his eyes locked to the ground. "Yes. Maybe. Not." He sighed. "No." He instantly brightened. "Are you being exiled?" He asked Hiccup, who groaned in exasperation and smacked his own forehead at his cousin's sadistic eagerness to see him in peril. Astrid scoffed and crossed her arms.

"We're getting married, yak-brain," she revealed to the other Viking. "Happy now?"

Snotlout's reaction to her revelation was instantaneous and priceless. His chiseled jaw immediately dropped, his eyes bugging out to such an extent that one could see all the whites around his irises. "Wait... WHAT?!"

Even though Astrid was extremely angry at Hiccup's cousin and wanted more than ever to use her axe on him, she couldn't help but smirk and try to stifle a laugh at the completely bewildered expression on his face. She was no stranger to Snotlout's jealousy towards Hiccup when he had earned her affection and ended the three hundred yearlong war single-handedly...with a bit of help from the other riders. So she decided to enjoy the moment. It was the closest she could get to revenge with Hiccup standing there.

"Yep, that's right," she smirked, "Hiccup and I are going to be husband and wife soon and we'll be living together." Snotlout continued to stare. "Hey Snotface, put a cork in it!"

The boy closed his mouth and bit his lip, his gaze slowly flickering to the ground. "Married?" He said in total disbelief. His brows furrowed. "Yeah, right! I don't believe for a second that Chief would let you guys be together after what you did. It's the law."

"Yeah, well the law expired, Snotlout," Hiccup said, crossing his stick-thin arms. Snotlout's look hardened.

"I wasn't talking to you, Useless!" He snarled, shaking a fist threateningly at the other boy.

"You are now," Hiccup shot back. "And I'm not useless, in case you haven't been up-to-date on that subject either."

Snotlout clenched his fists, furious. He could do it. Whack Hiccup so hard that he'd see stars and shove him to the ground, pounding his stupid face in until it was black and blue. But he couldn't. Not with Astrid there. "Whatever," he mumbled, surprising Hiccup by stalking away.

**A/N: Ugh... Fanrats... My thumbs hurt. You may not know this, but I type every single one of my stories on my iPhone, and it's starting to take effect on my poor digits. *thumb cramps* UGH! Kill me now. The next few chapters may take a little bit more time to write because I need to do more research on Viking traditions and weddings. We'll also get a taste of what the other teenagers think of Astrid and Hiccup's problem. Stay tuned, my readers. You will NOT be disappointed.**

**Ps: Any ideas for future details or controversy? Any at all? Leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**P.S.S: And while you're at it, please do your old pal Emma a favor and add my story to your favorites! Or follow it! Whatever floats your boat.**


	3. Mishap by Group

**A/N: More everlasting thumb-labor! Yay... Anyways, I'm so happy that you Fanrats are enjoying the story as much as you are. You all seemed to be pretty curious about how the teens were going to find out about the little "problem". I promise we'll delve deeper into Snotlout's point of view so we can eventually hear a bit more from him.**

**This chapter takes place a few weeks after the squabble between our favorite trio. And to those who were wondering: no, Snotlout doesn't know that Astrid's pregnant just yet. All he knows is that he was the cause.**

**travellerofadifferentpath: There's nothing more satisfying than the sight of Snotlout in pain. Ha, what an idiot. And I'm excited for the next chapter of Hiccup's life as well! Stay tuned!**

**TheForesakenTwist: I know, Astrid's directing her anger at the wrong person. And I'll think about that ring idea. *smirks evilly* **

**FluentFletcher2: I'm glad you thought so! These characters are just so fun to write for. And don't worry I fixed that spelling mistake.**

**A Person Who Likes Comedy: Yes, it's excruciating to do. I'm typing on my phone as we speak. I hope you're not too upset. XD**

**Midoriko-sama: Thank you! And yeah, I've read up a lot about Vikings and read a few stories with that as the case. You're right, that doesn't apply here, but if it did I would feel like I'd be stealing the plot from "Unplanned", another Hiccstrid story. Thank you for your input and I will check out the Viking answer lady. It sounds interesting, and I'll check it out. **

**Ps: Your second review really made me think. I know Astrid's reaction was unfair towards Hiccup, and I suppose it could have gone both ways: either she hurts him or she protects him, what with him being the Hero of Berk and all that. I find it kinda funny how you're asking all of these questions that I can't answer you mainly because of spoilers. Keep your shirt on cowboy, only three chapters have been written so far. XD And do I intend to make this story serious and political? Interesting question, and not necessarily... Believe me, it is serious, but I try to keep it simple without excluding any important factors. It's a pain for me to look into the tiniest details, like all those plot holes, but those get in the way for me. I would like the story to focus mainly on the relationships between Snotlout, Astrid, the baby, and Hiccup. I promise that I've taken everything you've said under serious consideration and I thank you sincerely for the helpful input you've given me. It helps a lot.**

**MHJohn64th: That's totally fine, dude! XD I can't tell you how many times I've gotten someone's gender or race wrong on the Internet. And it seems weird to ask if they are a boy or girl. It's a little odd. It surprises me that most the authors here are male. I thought there would be a ton more FANGIRLS here than Fanboys, but hey. And I have so much fun writing Hiccup in his Hiccup-y glory. May he kick Snotlout's butt forever!**

**Ps: I'm sure that Snotlout will get his butt kicked sometime in the future. Funny how everyone's interested in that, rather than the baby. But, what else is new? XD**

**Nonametologin: You should get an account just to favorite this story. Haha! Just kidding. But seriously, thank you for your kindness.**

**SharKohen: A bloodthirsty Astrid makes you smile? A tortured Hiccup makes ME smile. We would make quite a team!**

**Hugsn'XXX's: Thank you for your contribution, and I'll take it under deliberation.**

**jadesunset: Thank you so much for reviewing again! I wanna hug you through the screen so badly. Ha! You won't be disappointed for this chapter! And keep your fingers crossed; you just might get your wish.**

**alpha darkwolf: Yeah, I suppose I could have looked up the effects of consuming whatever they drank, but I was too cool for that. I believe the elixir did wonders on their brains, and I sincerely doubt they'll remember anything until he tells them himself. But thanks for pointing that out; I would never have thought of that. And you write your stories on a tablet? Yeesh. We should earnestly start a finger-cramp club. Thanks for sticking with the story so far, and I hope you keep reading and reviewing.**

**G: Thanks for the review, and awwwwww! Stop, your making me blush!**

**CassandraDayTree: But I AM begging for cramps!**

**Another big "thank you" for the reviews, my precious little Fanrats! Enjoy the story! And I apologize for the ridiculously long author's note.**

**May I remind you all: There is no swearing in my world, so keep your reviews clean and free of foul language.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 3: Mishap by Group<strong>_

A sunny day for Berk was enigmatic, being in early winter and all. With all the rain, hail, and snow, the chances of a sunny day were dwindling into single digits. But for one reason or another, today the birds were chirping, the sun was merrily shining, and a cool breeze gently wafted through the foliage with a sweet aroma of pine.

The weather had been lovely so far, and while it could be a little warmer, nobody was complaining. Who could, what with the harsh winter nearby?

In a matter of months, winter storms would arrive, and Berk would be under siege by a merciless barrage of snow and ice. Well, technically it was winter already, but Devastating winter wasn't for another couple of months. So because of this unexpected little gift, the Berkians were cheerier than usual. The weather had planted a seed of optimism.

At the Dragon Training Academy, the teens were situated with their dragons, ready for a day of erudition and drill. Well, Fishlegs was eager for knowledge and Astrid was eager to learn, while the twins and Snotlout would much rather beat up on one-another on occasion than than pay attention. Hiccup was adequately relieved about teaching class that day since it provided a decent distraction from what lay ahead in his future.

A few days ago, Stoick the Vast arranged a meeting with Astrid's mother and father about the marriage. It had gone well enough, Astrid's father, Egil, being most agreeable about the marriage contract and bride price. And it was no secret that he was quite excited and admittedly proud by the fact that their status would become greater in value within the village because their daughter was marrying the Chief's little hero of a son. For Vikings, marriage was as a means for forging alliances with other families. A marriage meant a chance for the bride's family to make an alliance with one of the most important families. The Chief's family was certainly a family to make an alliance with, thus assuring social status in Berk.

However, her mother, Helga, was a different story. Armed by the same aggressiveness as her daughter and the same "attack first and ask questions later" look, the woman seemed dense around Stoick, sending him hard glares. It was evident that she was still upset about her daughter.

"Ah do hope yer telling the truth about yer son, Stoick," Helga had stated stiffly whilst discussing the ordeal with the Chief, who didn't faze her one bit with his size or authority. "Ah don't know about him, but ah know that mah Astrid would never attempt such a vulgar act on her own."

Stoick narrowed his eyes. "Aye," he agreed, deeply insulted by her hinting at the ludicrous suggestion that his son might have invoked such an act. "I believe Astrid is a good, proper lass and you must believe me when I say that Hiccup is a proper, well-behaved boy. Neither of them would have done this on their own accord. They were intoxicated."

"Exactly!" Helga snapped too spitefully for his taste. "Who gave mah daughter that elixir Stoick, ey? She wouldn't have done it on her own."

"I've spoken to my son about it and he's insisted that he remembers nothing about how they came across the elixir or what happened afterwards," Stoick explained patiently. "It's strange, I agree. But what matters now is not how they came across the elixir. We have bigger fish to fry. Our first priority should be their future together as husband and wife, and they are going to raise a baby."

"Hm...I suppose." Helga folded her toned arms and raised an eyebrow in suspicion at the man. It was inevitable that she was going to continue to fuss over the subject of the elixir. "I trust that he is aware of our law, Stoick?"

At this, Egil bit his bottom lip that was already chewed a cherry-red from his reckless worrying, and his azure eyes flickered guiltily away to the wooden floors of his home.

"Who, Hiccup? Oh, yes. And eh, what law would that be?" Stoick asked carefully, concerned by Egil's sudden discomfort.

"Why, the law that gives us the right to take yer boy into our hands, of course," the woman spoke clearly and calmly. "If a young lad and a young girl consummate before marriage, then the parents of said girl have the right to...serve justice to the lad in their own way, Chief's son or not. Catch mah drift?"

Stoick was well aware of this law and had been thinking about it earlier. He nodded stiffly at the horrendous thought and held up a large hand to calm her. "I do. I understand. But there is no need for that. My boy and your girl will be wedded in a matter of a week or two. The law will serve no purpose here."

Stoick wasn't sure if he was imagining things, but he could've sworn he saw Egil release an exhale of relief, his tensed stance instantly relaxing. "So, have we come to a justly agreement, Hoffersons?"

Helga said nothing, but Egil jumped on Stoick's question gratefully. "Oh yes," he said happily, a little too hurriedly. "I think this will get along just fine. Astrid will be staying under yer roof after the marriage, yes?" He sighed, stroking his tan beard. "Me little girl... I never would've thought she'd be growing up so fast."

The Viking chief smiled in fatherly understanding and roughly patted the other man's shoulder. "Aye, I feel the same way for Hiccup. The lad's been through so much in such a short amount of time. First the arrival of that Nightfury, the Red Death, and now he needs to look after family. It's hard to believe that our children are still so young."

When Helga's glare failed to waver, he made a mental note to himself to remind his son to err on the side of caution when around Astrid's mother.

"What about the child?" Helga asked suddenly, catching the attention of both men. "Devastating winter is due about the same time Astrid is due for birth. Is it any concern of yers if the young one will live or not?"

"Of course it is," Stoick assured her. "Trust me. Your daughter will be in good hands." He sighed inwardly, wondering if Helga would cause any future unwelcome or harmful situations.

...

That was exactly what Hiccup was thinking about as he stepped towards the center of the ring: Helga. The woman was known around the village for having a rather beastly temper and her strong skills for being able to weird an array of weapons ranging from hammers to axes. She seemed to have a particular resentment towards Hiccup, Red Death defeated or not. But could he really blame her for not taking a liking to him when Astrid was now carrying his child?

Astrid. The one big reminder of the whole ordeal, who had unexpectedly arrived at class that morning.

Hiccup was puzzled over her appearance, figuring that since her mother and father had grounded her from Stormfly, she might not have bothered to show up at all. Yet, here she was, fresh, cool, but maybe not as collected as usual.

The young Viking speculated that maybe she just showed up to be a good sport. Or perhaps she didn't mind learning without her dragon by her side, or maybe it was just to be polite. He wasn't sure. She looked a bit on the grumpy side without her signature weapon in her hands.

But those theories seem to be proven wrong when he noticed the intense glower she was shooting at Snotlout. He realized she was present to make certain that he would not spill the beans about the sex or the marriage. The blonde teen hung out on the side, leaning against the stonewall of the arena, watching her partner teach every now and then before turning her attention back to Snotlout.

Hiccup was grateful for her presence. There was no telling what his cousin would say or do to him if she was absent.

It had been a while since either of them had talked to Snotlout, and Hiccup thanked Odin above that his cousin hadn't told any of the other teens about the whole ordeal. it was something that he wants to tell them himself when the time was right. He didn't want them hearing it from his cousin. So in the meantime, he wished for everyone who knew about the situation to keep quiet. The adults of the village gossiped amongst themselves, but there were four Viking adults that never discussed the matter in front of their children. Namely the parents of Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut. Hiccup thanked them for that.

It was surprising that Snotlout hadn't blabbed off yet. Maybe he realized how dire the situation was and decided to keep quiet for their sake. Hiccup almost snorted at the theory. No. It was because of Astrid. If she weren't so violent, he was sure that Snotlout would have told the teens already.

"But look on the bright side," he thought to himself. At least Snotlout didn't know that Astrid was pregnant with Hiccup's baby.

With that set aside, the fourteen-year-old was also surprised that his fiancé would risk her own health to be at the former killing arena. Because of the baby, her healthiness had depleted over the last couple of weeks. She began a daily routine of stomach cramps, headaches, and getting ill in the morning. She could no longer exert herself in the physically challenging exercises with the rest of the group. It was odd not being able to bear herself to the best of her ability, and Astrid hated the sudden limitation beyond belief.

So far, the twosome remained at a stalemate, neither one knowing how to approach the other without a deadlock tête-à-tête ever since that day at the Forge. For the last couple of weeks, there had mostly been on-and-off "hellos", awkward fumbles of sentences that were supposed to be conversational, and then lingering "goodbyes". There was no telling how long it would last. At least she wasn't threatening to murder him. But today, Hiccup could finally get his mind off of all that.

"Good morning class," the teen greeted cheerfully, stepping in front of the rockboard. "Everyone having a good day?"

Murmurs of casual "yeahs" and "sures" collected while one child remained oddly silent. Snotlout. He looked more bummed out than usual, continuously staring this dead-eyed stare at Hiccup. Most of the teenagers noticed but shrugged it off as Snotlout just being the jerk he was. But it was much more than that.

Snotlout could not believe that his plan had backfired so badly on him. The outcome had literally been the opposite of what he had been scheming, and now with knowledge that his scrawny cousin was going to get married to the girl of his dreams, the pride of Berk, it was unbearable.

Hiccup was situated in the center of the ring as usual, pretending not to notice Snotlout's furrowed, penetrating glare aimed at him. He had a hunch as to why Snotlout was steaming and made a promise to himself to ignore it. "Well, get excited people. I hope you've all studied hard and read the Book of Dragons as I assigned, because today, we're going to have a pop quiz about Gronkles and their habitats!" He announced, clapping his hands together. Groans and complaints followed suit, except for Fishlegs, who grinned excitedly.

"C'mon!" Tuffnut complained with provocation, "Why do we have to take quizzes while we're still alive?" Ruffnut nodded vigorously in agreement with her brother. "Yeah!" She said, "There are like, a million other things we could be doing in dragon training and this is how you teach us? I feel cheated."

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the twins' conducts. "Seriously, every time?" he asked in exasperation, glancing at Snotlout, who kept silent.

"Hey, guys, the tests aren't that bad," Fishlegs defended timidly, to no one's surprise. He in particular always loved to show off his spectacular comprehension of dragons by acing every test or pop quiz that came along. "Dragon knowledge should be your first priority when it comes to the Academy. The tests and pop quizzes are meant to prepare you and we should be thankful of Hiccup for that. Besides, it shouldn't really be a problem for you if you actually paid attention once in awhile."

Tuffnut crossed him arms and huffed, "Not true. I pay attention all the-hey, check out that cloud." A wan smile stretched across his jawline as he pointed to the sky. "Heh. Looks like a bunny..."

Hiccup rolled his emerald eyes yet again at Tuffnut's antics and smiled at Fishlegs, happy that he had come to his defense. Out of all the other teens, he understood Hiccup's intentions behind these tests and appreciated them gratefully. "Thank you, Fishlegs. At least someone gets it."

"You're very welcome, Hiccup," Fishlegs replied and turned to his dragon, Meatlug. "Ooh, do you hear that girl?" He cooed excitedly. "The test is about you!" The large Gronkle warbled in happiness and lapped her master on the cheek.

Snotlout snorted at this and crossed his arms, speaking for the first time that morning. "Yay for us," he muttered sarcastically, catching everyone's attention. "Let's just get the stupid thing over with. I've got better things to do than sit around and listen to a talking fishbone."

The arena immediately went silent after his insulting snide comment, and even the dragons were quieted. His remark was so sudden and so absurd, that everyone jerked their gazes toward him with astonishment and opened mouths. They then turned their attention back to Hiccup, waiting to see what he'd say in response to this bolt from the blue.

"Yeah?" He asked, amused. "Like what?"

Snotlout paused, biting his lip. He hadn't really thought of that. "Plenty of things..." He said slowly, "...that aren't your business."

Having heard this excuse many times before, the master dragon rider was greatly annoyed. "Oh, this again?" Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You know, if you don't want to take the quiz, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to fail you."

"Oh no!" Snotlout mocked in a whiny voice. "My pathetic little cousin might give me a failing grade! Pfft." He crossed his bulky arms in usual smugness. "Do you honestly think I even care, Hiccup?"

"Uh, actually I do." Hiccup crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his cousin's aggressive retort. "And I'm sorry I have to do so, Snotlout. You should have studied-"

Here, Snotlout cringed, his body tensing unpleasantly, and his taunting demeanor dimmed. "What, you really think I didn't study?" He paused, rethinking what he proclaimed. "Well, okay, maybe I didn't," he amended.

Tuffnut sniggered and Fishlegs sighed. "What else is new?" He muttered under his breath with an obvious eye-roll.

Fishlegs's snide remark only fueled Snotlout's temper. "I'm not upset about the stupid test!" he shouted suddenly, shaking a fist at his cousin, who stiffened. Everyone jolted by the sudden alteration of atmosphere as it departed from uncomfortable to overwrought. The boy's temper had escalated rather quickly, detaching from his usual smugness to serious anger. "The tests are stupid anyways."

"The tests aren't stupid—"

"Puh-LEEZE!" Snotlout threw his head back, laughing loudly, "Yes they are."

"No, they're not."

"Yes they are!"

"Actually, they're not."

"They're stupid!"

"I don't think it's the _tests_ that are stupid, Snotlout. I think it's someone who refuses them."

Snotlout bared his teeth in a mock smile. "I don't care what you have to say to me, Useless!"

The teens winced at the use Hiccup's old title, the one all the teens had deemed Hiccup when they were younger, or at least before he had conquered the largest dragon in history. Hiccup had successfully proven to each and every Berkian that he was not so useless after all-so what was the point of using it against the boy now if it meant nothing?

"Snotlout, that's enough!" Astrid chided from her corner of the ring. She slowly began to approach the others. "What's wrong with a simple test here and there?"

And a follow up question: what on Berk was wrong with Snotlout? He wasn't usually brutally aggressive this early on in the argument. That would come later at the climax of the fight. Fishlegs's mind flashed back to the celebratory dinner a few weeks before and wondered if Snotlout's hostility somehow connected with that. He had little time to ponder over it, because Snotlout looked ready to bash his cousin.

Little did the other dragon riders know, Snotlout was beginning to crack. All of this was too much. Too much. Far too much.

Once again, he could only ask himself, why couldn't he have been the hero instead his runty cousin? Why couldn't Astrid fall in love with him? Why couldn't he have been the one to kill his first dragon? Why couldn't he have been the one to shoot down the Nightfury? These questions had kept him up for the last couple of nights, much like the news that kept Hiccup awake. Anger and jealousy was starting to obscure his other senses, erasing all common sense from his mind.

"Exactly. So will you stop it?" Hiccup raised his voice in frustration, taking a tentative step toward the other male with his lanky arm outstretched. "I'm doing this all for you, you know. Teaching you about Hookfang, how-h-how to train him, how to defend yourself against attacks from the Outcasts—that's all for you and this is how you treat me? I'm not asking for much, Snotlout. Just a little respect."

Snotlout gritted his teeth until he was sure they would break from the amount of pressure he was exerting on them. The twins watched him in mesmerization. Ruffnut roughly elbowed her brother and whispered, "Looks like we're not gonna have a test today."

"I know," he sniggered in response, not at all disappointed, "Snotlout looks like he's about to bust his helmet. Check out that angry shade of red!"

"Like you even deserve my respect!" Snotlout fired back, "You may have the rest of the village swooning at your feet, but that doesn't apply to Snotlout!" He gestured to himself and flexed a bicep.

"Oh for the love-" Hiccup shut his eyes in embarrassment and palmed his forehead. He found it rather awkward to have people referring to him as a God-like hero. He was a humble person, so it simply wasn't harmonious with his accord. "I don't want anyone swooning at my feet. I'm satisfied with being treated like a human being, thank you very much."

Snotlout sneered. "I don't believe you deserve that either, Useless!"

"Would you stop calling me that?!" Hiccup cried with a cringe, anger bubbling up inside of him. "I'm not useless, and you know it!"

Noticing her boyfriend beginning to lose his patience, Astrid decided to step in before one of them snapped. "Alright, guys, that's enough!" She said firmly, stepping in between the two and shooting an intense glare at Snotlout. While it was clear that she could initiate a fight whenever she wanted, she could also end them. Pregnant or not. "This is stupid. Let's just take that test already and call it a day." The twin's smiles disappeared and they groaned while Fishlegs sighed in relief.

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his forehead. What was he doing? Quarreling with his cousin in the middle of class... His freckled cheeks burned with embarrassment at the immaturity he displayed. "You're right. You're right." This was ridiculous. Snotlout and Hiccup's squabbling couldn't get in the way of training. He made a mental note to himself to thank Astrid for halting the argument before it escalated. "You're right. Let's get to that test." Another groan.

"Not so fast!" Snotlout snapped, lightly pushing past the girl to go face-to-face with his hated relative. The twins smiled again, nudging each other, grinning happily. Astrid was about to retaliate, but Hiccup gave her a warning look that said, "I got this".

"I'm taking a stand, right here, right now, Hiccup," Snotlout started, not even bothering to control the rage inside.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, fed up. "Please then. Enlighten us."

Snotlout steamed and with all the teens looking at him expectantly, he barked, "I'm sick of you!"

Unexpected hurt flashed across the boy's freckled face for a brief moment before reverting back to its original angry flush. "You're sick of me? What a surprise..." He grumbled in annoyance, wondering why his cousin couldn't behave just for once. "Just-Odin above... Snotlout, for the last time, l don't have time for this. Just go back with Hookfang-"

"And that's another thing, runt," Snotlout interrupted heatedly, putting much emphasis on the name-calling. "You aren't the boss of me!"

Hiccup blinked and shook his head clear. "Wha-?"

"You heard me!" Snotlout yelled in his face, causing Hiccup to take a step back cautiously. "I am my own boss. I don't need you constantly ordering me around. I'm sick of seeing your face, I'm really sick of hearing your voice, and I'm really, really sick of hearing your name!" He poked a meaty digit against his cousin's boney chest with each insult, causing him to step back further and further. Astrid found it harder and harder to keep her hands still.

"W-What are you-?"

"Oh, Hiccup's so smart," Snotlout continued in a mocking voice to portray what he had overheard the villagers gossiping about, "Hiccup's so brave! He trained the dragons, he killed the Red Death, and he's got the metal leg!" He's marrying Astrid.

Hiccup took a start, shocked at what he was hearing. Even though he was quiet about how he felt about the missing limb, everyone was aware it was still a sensitive topic to him. "M-Metal leg?" He gasped, his voice then taking on an angry tone, "That's what's bothering-that's where you're going?! Metal leg?!"

"No!" Snotlout yelled, flinging his arms in a fit of hostility. "It's everything the leg is attached to-" His voice malice with venom, he gestured to his cousin, who was beginning to lose his cool, "-Mr. Skin-and-bones." Hiccup bristled.

Astrid actually gasped and covered her mouth; frantically torn between stepping in or letting them work it out themselves.

But...what Snotlout was saying to Hiccup had set the bar low. She was sure that her partner would flip and made a note to physically get involved if that happened. But to her relief, he didn't.

"Mr. Skin-and-bones, huh?" Determined to be the bigger person in the trivial matter, Hiccup calmly folded his lanky arms and raising an eyebrow at his brawny cousin, he quipped, "Well, thank you for that. Anything else you'd like to share, Mr. Cousin-of-little-decency?"

Snotlout began to sputter, getting up in the auburn-haired boy's face, who stiffened. He hated it when Hiccup appeared to be unaffected by his insults. "What do you think?" He snarled. "I'm sick of you! I just... I'm embarrassed to be related to you-I-I... I hate you!"

His plan was ruined, gone up in flames. His cousin took away the most beautiful thing away from him, and now he could never have it. This was his entire fault. And he was going to pay, somehow.

There was another silence, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The tension in the air was so heavy and thick that one could cut it with a knife. Snotlout stood dense before his conflicted relative; still steaming in stony anger while said cousin bit his lip, conflict flashing across his usually calm complexion.

Astrid looked back and forth between the two, still unsure if she should have bothered interfering at that point. Hiccup's expression was unmistakable: a mixture of shock, betrayal, hurt, and anger.

Tuffnut whistled lowly under his breath. "Ouch." Even he wouldn't say that to his sister.

Fishlegs opened his mouth to say something, but Hiccup beat him to it.

"Leave."

Everyone did a double take, his or her eyes widening at the dragon rider. Snotlout blinked and shook his head clear, brows furrowing into an ugly expression. "W-What did you just say to me?" He gasped, his normally low voice going a few octaves higher.

Hiccup bit his lip. He hadn't intended to sound so rash, but anger had gotten in the way along with the shock of what Snotlout had said to him. Hiccup always knew that his cousin had certain resentment toward him, but he hated him? Hated him? That was unexpected, and it hurt him deeply to hear it. "I told you to leave," the auburn-haired boy repeated firmly, crossing his scrawny arms, "You're suspended from the Academy until your attitude changes-no, until it improves."

Astrid let out a slight chortle of disbelief, hand covering her mouth. Suspension? This was too good. "You heard him, Snotface," she growled. The twins elbowed each other repeatedly, grinning like maniacs, and Fishlegs' mouth fell open, unsure if he should make a show of how relieved he was.

"Wha-Why?!" Snotlout sputtered, angry over that fact Hiccup sounded just like a father scolding a little child. Just like the last conversation he had with his cousin, he wanted to beat him.

Hiccup replied with disbelief, "D-Did you seriously just ask me that with a straight face? You just disrupted the entire class, insulted me, threatened me..." He counted his cousin's wrongdoings off his fingers. "Doesn't all that get old after a while? C'mon Snotlout, this has been going on since we were like, five!" The twins snickered, excitedly anticipating the violence that was sure to come. "Dear Thor, you could've at least waited until after class. Point blank: you're grounded."

That last little bit pushed Snotlout over the edge to the point where he could've cared less if Astrid was present. He could do it. Shove Hiccup to the ground, pounce, and beat the living tar out of his cousin until he was unrecognizable. But logic kicked in a bit. He couldn't. Again, with Astrid present, he could only attack Hiccup verbally. And even that would sometimes risk a good punch to the gut.

He grinned a terrible grin, and shoving a finger in Hiccup's freckled face, while not caring if his partner was going to kill him or not, he snarled, "Don't you think you could've waited until after marriage?" There was a beat. He smirked as a muscle under Hiccup's left eye jumped, the boy taking a sharp intake of breath. Toothless warbled in worry at his human's odd behavior.

"Snotlout..." Hiccup warned slowly, his scrawny body tensing up in nervousness. Surely his cousin would not go that low and spill the beans...would he? "Don't..." The other teenagers took immediate interest, actually leaning forward to listen to what stumped Hiccup.

"What? Waited for what?" Ruffnut queried in curiosity.

"N-Nothing. Unrelated," Hiccup waved off dismissively, but Snotlout wasn't finished.

"Oh I don't know, Useless," Snotlout gibed. "I think the other riders deserve to know. Unless...you unground me?"

The burly Viking knew he'd hit he right chink in the armor, because he smirked at his cousin's quickly reddening face. "Oh, look at that," he chuckled sadistically. "Blackmail. I didn't expect we would ever come to that." Hiccup's emerald eyes grew frantic and he glanced at Astrid, who was struggling with all her might not to strangle the boy before her. This was way too horrible, even for Snotlout. He didn't think his cousin would go that far.

"Snotlout, don't," he pleaded under his breath and his heartbeat quickened. "Just please don't."

"Don't what?" Snotlout smiled, clearly enjoying Hiccup's distress. "What don't you want me to do?" He pressed, leaning in. "Well?"

Hiccup went silent, emerald eyes flickering to the side, avoiding his cousin's smug face. Astrid began taking deep breaths, telling herself to just count to ten before she did something drastic.

"You don't want to tell them?" The arrogant smirk on Snotlout's face grew at his cousin's quietness. "Or better yet," he continued, "why don't I tell them myself?" Hiccup bit his lip and Fishlegs glanced at him in confusion.

"T-Tell us what?" The large boy whispered. "B-Because if it's bothering Hiccup that much, then I don't want to hear it!" Hiccup marveled at his friend's loyalty.

The other male never even got a chance to answer, because Astrid leapt forward and wrapped her callused fingers around Snotlout's thick neck, yanking him to the stony ground. "Don't even think about it, Jorgenson!" She hissed, pinning him with her toned legs. The twins both whooped with excitement and Fishlegs squealed in terror at her abrupt attack that caught everyone off-guard. "If you breath a WORD-!"

"Astrid stop!" Two panicked, lanky arms wrapped around her ribcage and yanked her off of Snotlout, who gasped for air. "That's enough!" It was Hiccup who had tugged her away, and was now desperately trying to hold her back, while at the same time trying to be gentler because of her state. She flailed, still attempting to punch at the fallen Viking. "Let me GO, Hiccup!" She bellowed through her gritted teeth, swinging her arms wildly. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Hormones," Hiccup thought miserably as he struggled with the female Viking. "Please just let it be hormones." Aloud, he tried to reason with her, "No! T-There are other ways around this!" Hiccup was more thankful than ever that Astrid's parents had taken away her axe along with Stormfly as punishment. Gods knew what would have become of his cousin if she still had it in her possession.

Snotlout scrambled to his feet and stared at Astrid through narrowed eyes. "Good Loki! K-Keep that girlfriend of yours under control," he sputtered carelessly. Astrid let out another enraged yell at his comment.

"Guys! Please stop fighting!" Fishlegs pleaded, holding onto Meatlug for his own safety. The twins were laughing and jeering at Snotlout, who staggered a few feet away. "Yeah! More drama!" Tuffnut yelled happily. "Keep it coming!" Hookfang watched calmly, making no indication that he was going to rescue his master from Astrid's clutches.

Astrid couldn't keep it together. With the combination of the fear of Snotlout revealing the truth, being held back from preventing said truth from being spilled, the pleading of Fishlegs for her to stop, the constant jeers of the twins, the orders of Hiccup for her to stop, the out of control hormones... It became too much for the blonde to handle. With a sudden burst of energy in a blind rage, she ripped an arm away and swung. "Hiccup, GET OFF OF ME!" Astrid screamed, finally managing to wrench her whole body away from his tight grip by socking him in the nose. Hard. Hiccup was stunned, blood instantly spurting from his nostrils as he staggered backward in a daze.

"OH! OUCH!" Ruffnut gasped, watching in sadistic wonder as Astrid faltered in her stance, torn between going after Snotlout and apologizing to Hiccup, who had just fallen back on his haunches. Toothless cried out and hurried over to his master's side. He growled at the shocked girl, stretching a midnight wing over Hiccup for protection.

Astrid snapped out of her anger-induced trance, opening and closing her mouth a few times, but no sound escaping her lips. She swallowed, the gravity of what she had just done slowly sinking in. She shot Snotlout a sideways glance, who'd begun to slink away from the ring. "Yeah, leave before I strangle you," she thought menacingly. "If I had my axe, it'd be embedded in your-"

A weakened groan interrupted her thoughts. She blinked, a look of terror overcoming her angry facial expression. "O-Oh Thor! Oh Odin's Ghost!" After observing her horrified and sorrowful gaze, Toothless let out a grunt and allowed her near. She rushed over to Hiccup's side, dread overtaking her senses. "Are you okay?!"

"Never been better," the auburn-haired boy moaned sarcastically, covering his nose as blood streamed through his fingers in thick rivers. "Are...are you okay?"

Astrid blanched, overwhelming guilt flooding through her. Even when injured, Hiccup was still worried about her own wellbeing. "A-Am I okay? You're the one with a bloody nose!" She tried to be as gentle as possible when pulling his bloodstained hands away from his now bruised face. "O-Oh my Gods..." She whispered, a lump forming in her throat. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup! I didn't mean to-Oh...what is wrong with me?!"

Not wanting to upset the girl any further, he laid a hand on her armored shoulder. "It's fine," the boy tried to assure her, using his fur vest to absorb the crimson liquid and smiled half-heartedly. Hormones. "A little bop on the nose won't make a difference."

Astrid clamped a hand over her trembling lips. "Hiccup," she said, "I can't tell you how sorry I am. You were just trying to stop the fight from escalating and I-I completely lost it. Inner warrior just...kicked in."

Hiccup smiled. It was slight, but Astrid was grateful that he wasn't too angry with her. "You were mad at Snotlout and you got overwhelmed. I understand."

At this point, Snotlout had quietly slunk over to Hookfang, mounting him quickly and taking off before anyone could do or say anything. Hiccup closed his emerald eyes, thanking the Gods that Snotlout had failed in telling the other teenagers about the whole situation.

"Yeah, but his stupidity isn't an excuse to hit you," her mind drifted back to when she attempted to kill her boyfriend because of what happened. She winced at the seemingly familiar déjà vu.

"Ugh...I don't look too beat up, do I?" Hiccup asked with a groan.

"Yeah, and this way you look more handsome," Ruffnut cackled until Astrid shot her a murderous look. "Heh. Just kidding," she apologized quickly, causing Tuffnut to snicker.

When he was sure that the fighting was over, Fishlegs slowly let go of Meatlug. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked Hiccup timidly, twiddling his fingers. Though a Viking, the sight of blood made him rather lightheaded. "T-That looks pretty bloody."

"I'm fine, Fishlegs," Hiccup assured the other boy, shakily getting to his feet, er, foot, with Toothless's help. "Trust me, I've had worse." He gestured to his missing foot and Fishlegs winced.

"Uh, question? Am I the only one who's still confused by what the heck just happened?" Tuffnut asked with a dazed expression. He tenderly rubbed the sides of his temples with his callused digits and groaned. "Too much thinking..." He brightened. "But now we don't have to take a test!" He and Ruffnut gave each other a high-five smiles spreading across their faces.

"Will you two cut it out?" Astrid snapped, letting Hiccup lean against her as he started to stumble. "We have bigger things to worry about right now than the stupid test."

"The tests aren't stupid," Fishlegs and Hiccup thought simultaneously in annoyance. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, Astrid," Fishlegs spoke quietly as to not anger or stress the girl any further, "What exactly was Snotlout going to say that made you want to kill him? He said something about a wait...and...Something about marriage?"

Astrid instantly paled, sharing a panicked glance with Hiccup at Fishlegs's question. They had forgotten about that one little slip. "...Good question," Hiccup said awkwardly, situating himself before he stumbled once more, "and the answer to that is...well..." He looked to Astrid for help. She merely shrugged in response, defeated, and he sighed. "Should I just...?"

"The marriage," Astrid instructed with a whisper. "Nothing else. They might as well know." Hiccup gave a nod, frowning as blood gently dribbled down his chin, and he used the sleeve of his forest-green tunic to mop it up.

"Okay guys. The reason why Astrid was so upset at Snotlout is because he was trying to tell you something important that we wanted to tell you all ourselves. So, to put it simply, Astrid and I..." he deliberately trailed off, making an attempt to stall before revealing the big news. Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs all leaned forward in anticipation, impatiently waiting for him to continue. "We are...u-uh um..."

"Breaking up?" Tuffnut incorrectly assumed. He shook his head with a sigh of disappointment. "That didn't take long."

Astrid clenched her fists, thoroughly insulted by the other blonde's insensitive remark. "No you dolt," she snapped, igniting Hiccup's wince at her aggressiveness, "We aren't splitting up. We're betrothed!"

There was a long silence.

"Oh. Well. That didn't take long."

...

Hookfang soared majestically through the fluffy, abundant clouds, the wind whipping at his scales creating a wonderful sensation of freedom. He would typically love a nice flight like this, but with a very defeated, hostile, and angry Snotlout perched upon him, even that would become a struggle. Every few seconds, the boy would grumble under his breath, causing the dragon to huff in annoyance.

"What does he know?" Snotlout muttered. "Kicking me out of the Dragon Training Academy..." His inner turmoil was starting to take control of his common sense. Even Hookfang could sense the inner turmoil and distress his master was experiencing, and he warbled in concern.

"So you're taking a stand? Enlighten us!" He spat in a mocking impression of Hiccup's nasally voice. "I'm gonna have to fail you! You're grounded! I'm top-dragon! Well, technically he didn't say that last thing... Ugh! Let's just go home," Snotlout grumbled, directing Hookfang to soar over the village. "Can't get that stupid fishbone out of my head."

Hookfang grunted and complied distastefully, taking a dive through the clouds towards the village square. After they landed, he shook off the burly boy, who landed with a yelp on the dirt ground. "GAH! Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled, flipping his hand in disbelief. "What the heck?"

The Monstrous Nightmare chortled at his master's distress and took to the sky once again, happily igniting itself with flames and leaving a very angry teenager in the dirt.

"Pfft. Pigheaded dragon," the boy grumbled, and staggered to his feet with a grunt. He began a simple trek through the village, noticing that it was bustling more than usual. "Winter. Of course. Can't walk one foot without slipping into a beam."

A laugh escaped his slightly chapped lips as a burly Viking slipped on a patch of ice and landed with a grunt, right on cue.

Everyone was busy around this time of year. There were multiple preparations that needed to run its full course. There were fish that needed to be netted, eggs that needed to be collected, milk that had to be milked, herbs, fruits, and vegetables that needed to be gathered, meat that needed to be slaughtered and refrigerated in the ice sheds, all in preparation for devastating winter.

Snotlout snorted as the fishermen, Bucket and Mulch, hauled in their latest catch. "Chillax people. Devastating winter isn't for five or eight months." That was another thing.

Living so far up North always resulted with dealing with the unpredictable weather. Billowing storms could strike a month early or several months late. Nobody could really tell for certain except for Bucket and Mulch.

Snotlout glumly kicked around a stone as the large villagers rushed around him, oblivious to his growing rage. He sighed. "Honestly, how could I have not won with her?" He asked himself. "I tried so hard. Tactic after tactic for years! And it only took Hicc-Useless a few days to woo her. How'd he do it? What's he got that I don't?"

"Brains, perhaps?" A familiar voice suggested briskly. "A friendly disposition?"

"Oh great," Snotlout groaned, not realizing he'd been mumbling all that he said aloud. He leaned against the counter of the Forge and glared at the one-armed/legged man, who was happily humming whilst he pounded away at a crooked sword. "I didn't ask you, Gobber!"

"Then who, may ah ask, were you questioning then, ey lad?" The much older Viking asked nonchalantly. He inspected the sharpened weapon with a meticulous eye and handed it off to the owner before turning back to Snotlout. "Ah hear ye've been particularly jealous of Berk's little savior."

"Don't call him that!" the young teen griped in flagrant disrespect for the older Viking. "Odin _above_, is it "Make Snotlout Angry Day?" He asked haughtily.

Gobber chuckled to Snotlout's dismay. "No, that's next Thursday. Today is like any other day: prepare for the siege of the everlasting winter!"

Snotlout grunted and dragged a callused finger over one of the axes, Astrid still on his mind. "So what do you want then?" He griped sarcastically, "You wanna gloat all about how your scrawny apprentice became the hero of Berk?"

"That would be enjoyable. But not now. Actually, ah want to talk about ye!" Gobber exclaimed with a grin, catching the young teen by surprise. He froze and met Gobber's eyes, evidentially puzzled.

"About...?"

"About you," Gobber repeated. "Like ah said before, ye seem to be having some jealousy issues over yer cousin. The man pulled up a small wooden stool that creaked helplessly as he sat upon it. "Now, you may not be my apprentice, but I want to help you."

"Why?" Snotlout asked, his brows furrowing into an ugly scowl. "You never bothered before. It's just because Hiccup is involved, isn't it?"

"Yes," Gobber admitted with a shrug. He had no trouble laying it on thick. "I don't see how you could be so hostile to someone who's done nothing wrong to you. The only palpable explanation for your said hostility is jealousy."

Snotlout huffed. "I know you don't want to hear it, especially from me, but it needs to be said, Snotlout," Gobber continued in a more serious tone. "Remember, ah used to be yer instructor and ye used to be me student in Dragon training."

"So?" Snotlout asked tiredly, his eyes never meeting Gobber's. Instead, they focused on the axe.

"So, I still care about yer well-being!" Gobber explained, laying a hook hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hiccup is your cousin, Snotlout. Ye need to make amends with him." Here, the teen groaned. "I know it seems hopeless, but the truth of the matter is that he's going through a very rough stage of his life. A stage you won't be going through until you are much, much older."

"Oh, like what? Marriage?" Snotlout asked sarcastically with an eye-roll. "Ooh. What a nightmare! Hiccup gets to be with the girl of his dreams for the rest of his life!" He narrowed his blue eyes, seething, and leaned against the wall of the Forge. "May the Gods help him. Poor wittle Hiccup," he whined.

Gobber raised his eyebrows at the boy. "Well, it's much more than that, Snotlout. Surely you've heard the big news." The young Viking let out a mock laugh in response, throwing back his head. "I know they had sex, Gobber. Uh, hello? I was the one that found them before you dropped by?" "_And the one who caused this whole mess..."_

"Oh, not that," the man said impatiently. "but the aftermath. Snotlout, they're going to have a child."

...

Fishlegs could hardly believe what he was hearing. Two of his best friends in the whole world were betrothed to each other. Well... That was neat. But why? Yes, young couples did get married, but usually not this early. "Oh. W-Wow. Congratulations...? W-Wait... So you guys are actually going to get married? T-This isn't a joke? You are actually, literally, unequivocally betrothed?"

Hiccup flashed his friend a weak grin. "Yep." Astrid's azure eyes flickered to the ground in embarrassment as the large boy's mouth went agape in shock. "Our parents decided that now is a good time for us to...you know...get together!" She mentally cursed herself for not coming up with a proper excuse.

"R-Really? I mean, not to be rude or anything, but you haven't been together for that long," Fishlegs pointed out. "It's only been a few months, right?" Astrid instinctively placed a hand over her slightly swollen abdomen and swallowed thickly. "That's correct," she affirmed.

Ruffnut was struggling to keep in her screams of joy for her friend. "Oh my Gods, Astrid! You're seriously gonna-Tuff! Punch me!" She begged carelessly, earning a grin from her brother.

"With pleasure," the boy sniggered, and socked his twin sister on the cheek without hesitation. "Good job, Hiccup!" He then congratulated. "Getting married, having you-know-what-" He earned a glare from Astrid. "-Finally becoming a man!" He sniffed suddenly, looking over the other male with a weathered look. "Our little Hiccup is finally a man!" He sobbed. The auburn-haired boy smiled half-heartedly, blood rising to his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Thank you, I guess," he replied. "I'm...flattered." Hm. He hadn't exactly anticipated reactions of praise.

"Hey, I don't want to sound negative or anything," Fishlegs started, causing Hiccup to sigh. "_Oh boy, here we go." "_But Vikings usually don't get married this young unless they did something that enforced them into betrothal."

"_Fishlegs_..." "Well, that's not _always_ true," Hiccup refuted politely, "My dad, for example, married my mother when he was sixteen. That's only two years older than me."

"Well, why so soon?" Ruffnut, who was still recovering from her punch in the face, asked in curiosity. "You guys have only been together for two months or something, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." Astrid admitted.

"Then why not wait?" Fishlegs asked in confusion. "I understand the whole "love at first sight" stories, but it may-and I'm not saying it won't! But it maaaay not work out. Besides, you probably don't want kids right now since Devastating winter would be around right when Astrid gives birth."

Hiccup closed his emerald eyes. "Thank you once again, Fishlegs. And yes, we're well aware about the whole "Devastating Winter being a really bad time to give birth," conundrum. And..." He stole a glance at Astrid, who gave him a tired look that said, "_Just tell them. They'd find out anyway."_

"And what?" Tuffnut pressed, massaging his knuckles.

Hiccup bit his bottom lip, a look of conflicted worry plastered onto his freckled face. "And that's going to be a bit of a problem for us," he finished.

"You don't want to wait to "do it", I get that." Tuffnut shrugged, miscommunicating. "You know what you should do? You should do it during Devastating Winter." Everyone stared at him with horror. "What? Something's got to keep you entertained on those long winters days when you're shut in your house. At least you got each other for company. You're lucky. I'm stuck with her all winter!" He jerked a thumb at Ruffnut, who scowled and roughly slugged his face.

"W-What, no! That's not what the problem is," the boy cried, blushing profusely. "We've already botched that option." Hiccup sighed, holding Astrid back once more as she raised a fist towards Tuffnut. Confessing was going to be nerve wracking.

"The problem is that we've already..." He trailed off, hoping they would catch the hint.

The twins were a little busy teasing each other up to process it right away, but Fishlegs got the hint loud and clear. He did a double take, appalled at this sudden, embarrassing news and blushed heavily. Astrid went red and sucked in a deep breath of winter air, hoping for his own sake that his reaction wouldn't be too crazy. "S-So wait, wait, wait," he began, holding up his hands to steady those before him. "Just to be clear, are you... Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

There was a collected pause as everyone, including Hiccup, turned to Astrid for a reply. She stared at the ground, shame flooding through her. "If you're thinking that we "did it" already, then yes," Astrid confessed quietly, folding her arms.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Fishlegs yelped and the twins shoved each other to stare at the couple in disturbed surprise. "Y-You guys_ c-connected_?" He inhaled sharply and squeaked out breathlessly, "b-b...before _marriage_?"

"So wait," Tuffnut spoke to Hiccup, who was shifting uncomfortably from foot to prosthetic foot. "You and Astrid like, did "that"?" He asked, making quotes with his digits.

Hiccup sighed, clearly not enjoying the fact that he was going to repeat it. "If by "_that_" you mean, "_sex"-" _Fishlegs recoiled_, "-_well, then yes. But it's not what you think. It was an accident."

Fishlegs was sputtering, going white in the face. "B-Bu-!"

"How do you accidentally have sex with someone?" Ruffnut snorted, eyeing Hiccup suspiciously. Truth be told, even though she was excited for her friend's betrothal, she was concerned by this new circumstance. Even she knew that consummation before marriage was not acceptable. "Unless Hiccup like, trips and falls and it ends up in her-"

"Don't. Go. There." Astrid seethed darkly, pointing a rigid finger at the other female, who silenced immediately but still grinned a cheeky grin. "Or I will see to it personally that your helmet will be shoved up your-"

"OKAY!" Hiccup hastily interrupted, before things became too graphic. "I think we're all a little flustered by the turn of events, so let's just calm down." He observed the larger Viking of the group. "Are you okay, Legs?"

Fishlegs had gone an ashen shade, his body tensed. "Just peachy!" He forced out. "Really! U-Um… Explain to me how you accidentally had…y-you know…"

"Let's not get into details and just say that there was a mug of mead involved," Astrid explained hurriedly. "That's all you need to know."

"To be honest, that's all _we_ really know," Hiccup admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "And that leads to our next problem."

Fishlegs buried his face into his palms. "Odin!" He cried, perceptibly embarrassed. "How many other surprises are you going to-!" He paused. "Sorry, I need to process this. Oh…man."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, allowing Fishlegs to take in the information. But it wasn't long till someone piped up. "So…How was it?" Tuffnut asked curiously, glancing at Hiccup, who stiffened, blushing a dark scarlet. One glare from Astrid and he cringed. "Sorry, I'll shut up now," he apologized sheepishly. "I'm a guy, you know? Just wanna be in on the gag."

Fishlegs moaned, "Please stop…"

"Ignore the Butt-Elf. What's the other problem?" Ruffnut asked with a roll of her eyes at her brother's crudeness.

Hiccup stole a glance at Astrid's abdomen and felt a twinge of pain overcome him. He couldn't blame Fishlegs for feeling overwhelmed when he felt frantic enough, almost _sickened_ by what lay ahead in the near future. All he could think about was what dwelled inside. Inside of _her_. Inside of Astrid, was his developing _child_. His chest tightened and he closed his emerald eyes. He nearly couldn't bring himself to confess but forced himself to speak. "Our…Our problem is what's to come in about six months," he said, his voice coming out as a choked whisper. "I-It's the baby."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Huh. Look at that. My hands are dead.<strong>

**Whelp, on that cheery note, I hope you Fanrats have all enjoyed this super-sweet amazing chapter! It took me forever to write, since I'm busy being a straight-A student and all. **

**By-the-by, I have a Deviantrt account and I'm thinking of drawing some art in relation to this story. My account is here: ** .com **Check it out and maybe you'll see something you like!**

**Please add my story to favorites and follow it! Leave a friendly review! Do ANYTHING! If you see grammar or spelling mistakes, TELL ME SO I CAN FIX IT!**


	4. Mishap by Wedding Part One

**Author's Note: Greetings, my fine, fine Fanrats! I apologize most sincerely for the wait you've had to endure. I had a four-day weekend and I vacationed with the intention of finishing chapter four. However, I fell sick and was unfortunately unable to fulfill my plan. Bummer. Also, I'm not exactly ALLOWED on Fanfiction... Yeah, if my parents found out that I'm writing this story, they'd KILL me and shut it down. So... Hopefully you've had the patience of true Fanrats, and I give you: Chapter Four.**

**Noname: Yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger. Hopefully this chapter can satisfy your needs.**

**Guest: Of course three months have passed. XD This story is clearly on the move apparently!**

**FluentFletcher2: Curse you and your grammar/spelling mistake compass. Thank you though! I will get those fixed right away.**

**CassandraDayTree: I'm really sorry about the wait, but I wanted everything to be just perfect.**

**A Person Who Likes Comedy: Just go to deviant art and search EmmaLennyEddie. It'll show up.**

**My God: As long as my parents don't find out that I'm writing this, then I shall not die!**

**Aricawebb13: Thank you. I'm really glad you enjoyed it! **

**Travellerofadifferentpath: My goal is to combine Astrid and Hiccup to a miniature version of themselves. It's gonna be adorable!**

**SharKohen: Thank you so much! Many of people don't realize how hard it is to write Snotlout's character. He's an arrogant little spud, isn't he?**

**TheForsakenTwist: Don't be concerned. I'll update as soon as I can.**

**Enjoy!**

**As stated before: There is no swearing in my book.**

**...**

**Chapter Four: Mishap by Marriage Part One**

A hush spread over the Academy like icing over a cake as soon as the shocking words exited past Hiccup's lips. Sensing their masters' discomfiture, the dragons quieted. The teens all stared with jaws agape as Hiccup awkwardly shuffled from foot to prosthetic foot. Time seemed to stand still, and Astrid could feel her stomach churn as she and her partner waited densely for the riders to process this sudden barrage of information.

"_Please take it well, please take it well_," Hiccup prayed, "_Dear Odin, please_!"

It all ended abruptly when Ruffnut let out an unbelievably loud squeal, causing Fishlegs and Tuffnut to jolt, Hiccup to yelp, and then think sarcastically, "_Thanks Odin_."

The young teenager seemed to be induced in some sort of psychotic frenzy, the news too much for her to bear. "No way! NO WAY!" She screeched, shoving her brother to the side and sprinted over to Astrid to stare at her slightly swollen abdomen. "You're pregnant!? Actually pregnant?! With HIS baby?!" She pointed at Hiccup, who chuckled nervously. "I can't believe it's true!" she rambled, "Tuffnut told me you were just getting fat!"

Astrid put on her sharpest glare and aimed it intimidatingly at the blonde, who chuckled nervously. "Not that there's anything wrong with a dragoness fig-GAH!" He scrambled to his feet and leapt from the ground, his sister's helmet roughly striking the area he'd just been.

"OH THOR, OH THOR, OH THOR, OH THOR!" Fishlegs was whimpering, distress written all over his face, "I did NOT see that coming. Oh Hiccup, Astrid! I...*gasp, heave* I... *gasp, heave* I can't believe- *gasp, heave* I need a minute!"

"Zip it, Butt-Elf!" Ruffnut hissed to her brother, gripping Astrid's shoulders. "Or next time it'll be-"

"Alright, alright! Geeze! I'm sorry," Tuffnut apologized angrily, brushing off his cloudy tunic before moving beside Fishlegs, who was still trying to absorb the fact that one of his friends, a friend that he'd known for such a long time, was carrying a child.

"U-Uh-Uh...I...can't believe it," the large boy whispered, eyeing Hiccup with shock. "That's why you're getting married so early! R-Right? Right? Y-You...You're going to be parents!"

Hiccup couldn't help but sigh, wiping away another dribble of blood. "Thank you, for summing that up," he intoned.

"No, but seriously! T-This is huge!" Fishlegs gasped, covering his mouth. "I-I was right about Devastating Winter-guys, this is-this is-"

"Whoa! Don't strain yourself, Bud," Hiccup warned. "You're freaking out again."

"S-Sorry," Fishlegs whimpered apologetically, inhaling deeply at an attempt to soothe his erratic nerves. "It's just-" He paused, panting nervously. "Aren't you worried about it?"

"Nope, we've totally got this under control," Astrid said sarcastically, crossing her arms as Ruffnut reached out to touch her stomach. "Hey, you could ask, you know," she snapped, lightly smacking the other girl's curious hand away from the mound.

Ruffnut snickered and drew back, "Sorry, it's hard to resist."

The boys all looked at each other in puzzlement. What was it with girls and pregnancies? Not that it mattered, but why do they always want to feel it? To the boys, Tuffnut and Fishlegs at least, it was odd.

"What? Don't tell me you never wanted to touch it, Hiccup," the twin snorted, placing her hands upon her hips. The male blushed lightly, staring at the stone floor, not daring to make eye contact with his fiancé as she waited for his answer. "Ah-I, uh, well, it... It never crossed my mind," he decided, pressing the shoulder of his furry vest to his nose. It didn't matter after all, did it? But to be honest, he did have a longing to just _feel_.

"Don't we have bigger fish to fry anyway?" Fishlegs inquired in order to keep the conversation on track. He turned the chieftain heir and probed, "Hiccup, how long has Astrid been pregnant?"

"Um... About three months. Why?" Hiccup questioned, though he had a feeling he knew where his large friend was going.

"Um, hello?" Fishlegs asked in a panicked voice, troubled that no one seemed to care, "Devastating winter?" He hinted. "A few months? Your kid might be born on Snoggletog? Which, by the way, is in the coldest and stormiest month of the year? That time of year when most babies die?!"

"OKAY! Fishlegs! Again with the freaking out!" Hiccup exclaimed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't want to admit it, but whenever Fishlegs freaked out, it made him want to freak out, and that's the last thing he wanted to do in that situation. He aimed to keep a calm, level head and handle the ordeal maturely. "Yeah, Devastating Winter. Might be a bit of a problem-"

"Bit of a problem?" Fishlegs interjected. "_Bit_ of a problem?! There is a problem, Hiccup, and I think I speak for everyone when I say you've got a big one."

"Oh, sweet baby Thor, Fishlegs," Astrid groaned in exasperation. "We get it! Odin almighty, it's not like we didn't already know this!"

That was when Tuffnut spoke up. "Oh... So, then what are you going to do about it?" He mused thoughtfully.

Neither Hiccup nor Astrid had an answer. "Um...Well..." Hiccup replied slowly, wracking his brain for an answer. "I suppose we were going to just let nature take its course. What else are we supposed to do?"

"Don't get your hopes up," Fishlegs advised sadly. "So many babies don't survive their first winter. It'd take a miracle to-"

"WE GET IT, FISHLEGS!"

...

The sun was already beginning to set as Hiccup began the long walk back home from the Dragon Training Academy, so as you can imagine, hours had passed since his quarrel with Snotlout and his confession to the other riders. Astrid had left for home about an hour before when stomach pains began to overtake her. This, of course, frightened him beyond belief. Nothing frazzled him more then what was that he could not fix; something he didn't have any control over.

Panicked, worried thoughts swirled about his tortured noggin like an out-of-control waterspout as he walked along, the dry winter grass crunching underneath the metal of his prosthetic with each step. Avowing to the other riders was painful enough, but now, like Fishlegs said, he had bigger fish to fry. The wedding, for instance, Astrid, their baby. Devastating Winter. When Tuffnut had asked him what he was going to do about it, he had no answer. What _could_ he have said? He couldn't crush mountains, level forests, or tame seas like the Gods, let alone prevent a storm from raging over Berk.

And he couldn't deny what Fishlegs said wasn't true either. Devastating Winter was the one month on Berk where the weather was at its harshest in terms of storms and temperatures below freezing. Giving birth to a youngster around that time would be extremely dangerous. The little one could fall ill, freeze... The little ones rarely survived. He hung his head at the thoughts, but then lit up a bit.

"_You survived, though_," he assured himself. "_And if you could make it, so will your baby."_

Hiccup was born around the last few weeks of devastating winter: February 29, a leap year. He was brought into the world, small, weak, sickly. Nobody presumed his survival...even his own father assumed he'd be dead within a few days. But he lived on. All the other teens were born several months before him, including his cousin, Snotlout.

Snotlout.

Hiccup reminded himself to keep a wary eye out for his cousin. Even with Toothless by his side, he still felt pathetically vulnerable with his prosthetic limb that he still hadn't fully adjusted to. For example, Snotlout was most likely still angry and aching to pound his scrawny cousin to the ground. Hiccup was sure of that, and it made him feel nauseous to dwell upon the subject matter of his untimely demise.

His mind drifting to Astrid, the boy sighed. She was obviously still upset, but who could blame her? By now, the entire population of Berk had heard the news of their intercourse and her pregnancy. "Buddy, what am I going to do?" He didn't exactly expect advice from a dragon, but it was nice to speak to someone who listened, especially if that someone could not reprimand him for his opinions and thoughts.

Toothless, naturally, only grumbled in reply.

Hiccup went on, "I-If I could be honest, I really have no idea what I'm going to do with Astrid." He sucked in a breath and reworded, "You know, with her and me-our relationship! It's all so messed up... You...You dragons are lucky when it comes to...association." If Toothless could have shrugged, he would have.

"It's so simple," Hiccup continued, "You rely on instinct and mate to start a family. Humans have to get through all those awkward processes of getting to know each other, and go on dates... Astrid and I aren't ready for each other by far. I-I don't think we've been out on even one date! Yet we've already crossed the line! She's _pregnant_ for Thor's sake! You know... We've done everything an already-married couple should." He kicked at a loose stone and watched it tumble off the cliff and into the docks below and winced when someone cried out in pain from over the edge.

"Sorry!" He called out sheepishly, and glanced at his dragon, who warbled. "Ha-ha. Very funny, you useless reptile," Hiccup teased good-naturedly, flicking Toothless's snout before flopping down on his back to stare up at the now overcast sky, hoping that this angle would cease the flow of blood. Toothless let out a groan of protest and situated himself beside his rider, closing his sharp-jade eyes.

"Odin..." Hiccup muttered with humor. "Dragons are so much more simpler than humans. You aren't limited by all these rules, _restrictions_!" He complained, putting much emphasis on the "restrictions" and even waved a finger in the air for good measure. "It's just... It's in your nature. You can't help it. You automatically know how to raise hatchlings. Human don't. They have to learn, and I haven't learned."

If Hiccup had to be honest with himself, he _had_ been wondering lately what it would be like to be in a primal relationship where whatever action they carried out relied on instinct instead of conscience. It would certainly be much more simpler then the usual ritual carried out by humans. "Well, there's not much I can do about it now, huh Bud...Uh...-ACHOO!"

Toothless jolted abruptly and warbled in profound revulsion as his master suddenly sneezed, blood spurting into the palms of his hands. "Ugh...EUGH!" Hiccup moaned in equivalent disgust as he slowly pulled his hands away from his face, flinging the stringy crimson liquid away and wiped the rest in the grass.

Toothless sheepishly backed up a few feet away from him, suddenly aware of the look of misery plastered onto the young boy's face. Hm. The dragon cocked his head to the side. Should Hiccup be this upset over a minor injury? Or was it because of Snotlout, his cousin? But those two Vikings had gotten into so many arguments that one would think that Hiccup would be able to shrug this one off like he had with all the others. Was it because of his mate?

Toothless perked. That seemed more palpable, considering the fact that Stormfly's female had given him a bloody nose. But even then, she had inflicted bruises upon him on numerous occasions before and he didn't seem to let it bother him then. So, why now? Perhaps Snotlout and Hiccup were competing for her love? Ah yes! That had to be it, Toothless realized. The punch to the nose must have been some sort of rejection! Whatever the reason, it was doing a number on his master.

Though the dragon was unaware of the reasons why his human was so emotionally distraught, it worried him greatly. He crooned for comfort, hobbling forward and nudging his master's thin waist, who sighed sympathetically. "Hey, Bud. Sorry you had to see that." He inhaled sharply through his nose, causing the appendage to burn and dizziness took him. With a sleeve of his tunic, he mopped away another dribble of blood that leaked from his nostrils. "Eh... I'm sure it's not that noticeable, right? Whaddaya think, Bud?" He hopped in front of Toothless's path and spread his arms out on display, grinning awkwardly. "I don't look too beat up, do I?"

Toothless studied the young male's dried-blood-painted, bruised face before making an expression of uncertainty, causing Hiccup to frown. "Ah, great. Dragon pity," he muttered sarcastically, wiping away another dribble of blood. "Ew, gross!" He retched, "More blood... Darn it. I hope it's not broken or anything."

With another tired sigh, he made his way to the dragon's side. "Let's fly to Gobber's. Maybe he has some bandages," Hiccup suggested, swinging a leg over the Nightfury's saddle and latched his prosthetic into the pedal. "Alright, let's go, Bud." Soon they were soaring over the village, a dark silhouette against the pink, overcast sky.

Within a few minutes, they had reached the Forge. Just like Snotlout, Hiccup noticed with great interest as the hustle and bustle of Berk bordered almost uproarious. Well, with winter hovering above, who could argue? He slumped. You reminded him of the upcoming Devastating winter.

The young Viking swung his legs over Toothless's side and hopped off, entering the smithy with carelessness. "Hey Gobber," he resounded, carelessly scanning the area, "Sorry to bother you, but do you have any-?" He stopped short, body frozen as he locked eyes with his hateful cousin, who stared back at him with an unreadable expression, though one emotion decipherable: guilt. He tensed, expecting some annoying insult to spew from his cousin, but oddly enough, he remained silent with his arms folded. Gobber, the man in question, looked up at his apprentice and waved him over with a smile.

"Ah, Hiccup! Nice of ye to join the party," he exclaimed cheerfully, and Hiccup blinked, mentally forging an escape plan. "And if yer looking for bandages, there are some in the back." He gestured toward the back room with his prosthetic hook for a hand. Hiccup was dumbfounded by his cousin's silence, and that expression... Was that pity too?

"...Right," Hiccup affirmed slowly, inching his away around the two other males, who watched him intently. "Right. I-I'll just...get those..." He clumsily made his way to Gobber's large, wooden desk and retrieved some woven cloth that he pressed against his nostrils to absorb the still-running crimson. Turning back to face the other Vikings was most awkward, and he fidgeted. "So... You guys have been...talking?" He asked, avoided his cousin's eyes and kept his gaze on his boss.

"If you mean discussing yer scuffle, then yes, yes we 'ave!" Gobber answered in an optimistic tone. "Nice shiner, by the way," he complimented. "Looks manly!" Hiccup pursed his lips and nodded forcefully. After an awkward two seconds, he went on, "Snotlout and ah were just talking about ye. Ah hear you an 'im got into a bit of a quarrel amongst yeselves, and ah want ye two to work it out."

One look at his cousin and the memory of Gobber locking him in the back room with Astrid, Hiccup hastily replied, "Y-Yeah, I-I think I'll pass. Remember what happened the last time you wanted me to work something out with someone? I got an axe to the throat. Twice, I believe. So... Yeah, I don't know how that's going to work out."

Snotlout scoffed quietly under his breath at the lanky teenager. He remained hostile. "That goes double for me. Not going to work out at _all_," he sniffed, earning a swift bonk on the head from the much older Viking. "Ow!"

"C'mon ye two," the blacksmith scolded, getting up from his stool and pointing at the cousins. "Hiccup, ah've spent the last hour trying to get through to this young lad here-"

"Y-You have?" Hiccup interrupted and then spoke with sincere sympathy with a small shake of his head, "Oh Gobber, I am so, _so_ sorry."

Gobber nodded to show his gratitude. "Thank ye laddie. Ah admit to Odin, it was rough, but ah pulled through." Ignoring Snotlout's seething glare, the man added, "So as ah was saying, ye two need to work out your differences if ye ever are to get along. For starters, ah've informed Snotlout of Astrid's pregnancy, so there are no more secrets to hide!" Hiccup started, taking a glance at his cousin with wide emerald eyes. Well, no wonder he looked strange and uncomfortable.

"Bu-wha-GOBBER!" He cried, waving his arms. "W-Why would you-?!"

"Ay, keep your tunic on, boy! There will be no more tiptoeing around the lies and the truth. The whole blasted village knows anyway," Gobber firmly declared, causing the young boy to wince. "From now on, everything needs to be laid out on the table to be hammered upon, and we're starting with that!"

At this, Snotlout paled a bit and beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead. Secrets? Oh, he had secrets upon secrets that were not yet unveiled, but thankfully, the other two Vikings were oblivious to it. "_Oh, Gods,_" he thought frantically, "_Hiccup's going to be a father! Hiccup's going to be a father! Astrid is pregnant and it's all because of...of...me!"_

_"Well, what did you think was going to happen, moron?" _A small voice at the back of his head replied nastily. _"You gave them elixirs and locked them into the same room together, unsupervised. Helloooo? Really, it'd take a person with the brain the size of a Terrible Terror to not foresee it."_

Snotlout swallowed a thick lump that rose in his throat. "_Oh Thor, if anybody finds out and tells Stoick-"_

_"-Is exactly why you won't tell anyone, genius! Just keep your mouth shut and you'll be fine. If not, expect the chief to exile your sorry behind off this island in a flash."_

_"I-I don't know if he'd do that. I'm his nephew," _the teenager thought indignantly. "_I mean, yeah, I won't tell, but I have to admit... I feel really guilty."_

_"Well, duh! You poisoned the Chief's son! Of course you feel guilty. Nonetheless, you can't tell anybody."_

_"What if they do manage to find out?" _Snotlout wondered worriedly, and then tried to grin without much success. _"Oh, what am I saying? I'll be fine; they won't find out, 'cause I'm stealthy like a fox. The runt-" _he paused, somehow not feeling so justified to call his cousin that anymore_, "-Hiccup won't ever find out. He'll be too busy with Astrid to even notice. Oh geeze..." _He felt especially guilty for Astrid. His hatred for his cousin had cost her a pregnancy. Even though he was a self-centered, arrogant jerk, he still felt bad for the position he put her in. Heck, she wasn't the one who angered him in the first place and now she was suffering.

_"Okay, even though Hiccup really had it coming to him, did you have to rope Astrid into all this?" _The voice asked skeptically. "_You saw her in the kill ring. She's beyond furious. Thor almighty, what were you thinking? That telling everyone about Hiccup and Astrid's sex life wouldn't piss her off a little?"_

_"I-I-UGH! I wasn't thinking, alright? Stupid voice."_

_"Heh. Two yaks says she'll pound you to the ground next time she sees you."_

Snotlout went pale at the thought of the girl running after him with that blasted axe of hers-

"Snotlout? Thor almighty, is he even-Snotlout!"

Snotlout jolted from his daze, shaking his head clear until his chocolate eyes refocused. "Y-Yeah, yeah, what's up?" He asked hastily to cover up his incompetence.

At that, Gobber rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Ye weren't listenin'," he made clear with amusement.

Though slightly flustered, Snotlout wasn't about to be belittled. "Well, ex-CUSE me!" He exclaimed haughtily, "Your conversation is so boring that I drifted off." Hiccup glared at his cousin. It was one thing to insult him, but to insult the blacksmith? Now that struck a chord.

Gobber of course, merely shrugged off the chide and replied, "No worries. Ah'll repeat since ye've got the attention span of a sparrow: ah want ye to apologize to Hiccup." At this, the young Viking felt a pang of defiance strike his heart. Even though everything that had happened was technically his fault, he wanted to maintain his dignity, even if that meant refusing to apologize.

"And Hiccup," the large man turned to the other young boy, who was still in the process of mopping up his bloody nose, "ye need to apologize to Snotlout."

The fourteen-year-old had the grace to look only a little dumbfounded. "M-Me?" He stammered in disbelief. What had he done besides grounding his cousin from the academy? And even that was a result of Snotlout's bad behavior. "I'm the one with a bloody nose here, Gobber. All I was doing was trying to protect Astrid from...from him!" Snotlout stiffened considerably at Hiccup's declaration, inhaling sharply through his nose in a struggling attempt to control his temper.

"It's only fair that both parties set their differences aside," the blacksmith explained patiently, "We'll start with an "Ah'm sorry" from the both of ye. Now."

"..." Hiccup and Snotlout averted their eyes from each other, Snotlout biting his lip and Hiccup shuffling from foot to prosthetic foot.

Gobber looked back and forth between the two silent, stubborn young men for a maximum of ten seconds of quiet before saying, "Very well then. Those who don't apologize will muck out the outhouse for a week."

"I'M SORRY HICCUP/SNOTLOUT!" Both boys cried in unison, causing the much older Viking to chuckle. "Yeah, that's what ah thought. Well, that wasn't so hard, now was it? No. Didn't think so," he said without waiting for answer from either youngster. "Now, Snotlout, ah believe you owe Hiccup an explanation for yer behavior. Care to elucidate?" Hiccup slowly turned to eye his cousin, raising his eyebrows in expectation as Snotlout turned beet red.

"I-It's okay," the young male dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I have a pretty good idea."

Snotlout's body language relaxed, silently thanking Odin for sparing him from an explanation. "Yeah, he already knows. And we already apologized to each other, so can I go now?" He huffed.

Gobber looked like he was going to contradict Snotlout's request, but he sighed instead and with a gentle shove, he guided Hiccup out of the Forge. "Fine then. What needed to be said was spoken. Now be off with ye, young Hiccup! Ah believe your father wanted to speak with ye."

The auburn-haired boy groaned inwardly as he mounted Toothless, casting one last look at his cousin, who looked more conflicted than usual. "Great. One blow after the other."

...

Later that night...

Hiccup decided to land a little later than usual outside his house for his own sake. With a small smile, he dismounted his dragon and gave him a little scratch below the chin. "Maybe you'd better wait out here, Bud," he recommended. "You know my dad; it might get loud."

Toothless gave his rider a look of pity, causing Hiccup to wince. "Great. More dragon pity." With a deep breath, the young Viking entered the house to find his father sitting beside the fire in his great wooden chair, prodding at the fire with a poker, causing it to spark. Thinking that his father was distracted and it might buy him some time, Hiccup quickly tiptoed past the man and started to make his way up the wooden stairs to his room.

"Hiccup," Stoick spoke suddenly. "I know you're there."

Hiccup stopped short, momentarily deflating as he cursed himself for not being quieter. "Dad!" He greeted awkwardly, forcing a smile onto his face. "Hey..." He remained where he was, so at least he was at his father's eye-level at this part of the staircase, rather than his father towering above him.

Stoick approached his son, a stern look shadowing his features. "I need to speak with you, son."

Hiccup gulped. "Dad, I-I know that you know, but in my defense, I can't control Snotlout every second of the day." To his surprise, his father sighed, breaking eye contact for a moment to stare at the floor.

"Hard day, I take?" The man asked sympathetically, taking in the image of his son's bloody nose.

At this, Hiccup groaned and leaned back against the wall, rubbing his temples tenderly. "Ugh," he muttered indignantly. "You don't even know the half of it." He noticed that his father was holding a block of ice against his forehead. "Mind if I?" He inquired.

"Not at all," Stoick replied, handing Hiccup the block of ice for his own use. "Care to elucidate?"

Hiccup pouted and glared at the floor. "Well, to...put it simply, all the other riders know about the marriage and the baby now. Thanks to Snotlout."

"Do they?" Stoick asked thoughtfully. "Well, it's about time they did," he pointed out. "The wedding is scheduled two days from today anyway, remember?"

Hiccup winced at the thought. "How could I forget?" He mumbled sarcastically at the reminder. "Every time I see Astrid, she reminds me. And I've been working on her morning gift for a solid week. Not to mention that you tell me. Every. Single. Solitary. Day!"

His dad let out a dry laugh. "Can't have you forgetting, can we? So. How'd the others take it?"

Hiccup thought about it for a moment, recalling the earlier events of today and shrugged. He had to admit; their reactions weren't as bad as he expected them to be. "Eh, they took it well enough," he conceded, pressing the ice gently against his temple.

"Really? You're telling me that they were completely nonchalant?" Stoick pressed suspiciously.

Well, that certainly wasn't the case. "Yeah...no. Fishlegs flipped out, Tuffnut cried and congratulated me... I think." He wrinkled his nose. "Ruffnut was okay with it, believe it or not. She seemed to be excited for Astrid."

"Uh-huh," Stoick said, his tone bordering on the octave of amusement. "Well, at least they know. And speaking of Astrid, what did you do to earn yourself that bloody nose of yours?"

"I kept her from killing Snotlout," Hiccup notified with a grimace, causing his father to release a hearty guffaw. "What?"

"Haha! I've got to hand it to you, Son!" Stoick laughed and punched his boy's lanky shoulder with great force, ignoring the glare Hiccup addressed him, "You picked a mighty warrior! Still can't best her at hand-to-hand combat, can't you?"

"Pfft. Y-Yeah. Well, I'd like to see you try!" The fourteen-year-old nearly snapped, agitated by the older Viking's tease. "She's waaay stronger than she looks and she could beat up anyone on this island, even if she _is_ pregnant."

"Oh?" The chief smiled a secret smile, amused when his son came to his fiancé's immediate defense. "Could she now?"

"Yes, she could!" The young male insisted, "She-She could best anyone, and t-this: this is proof!" Hiccup quavered, gesturing to his face that was still blood-painted.

"Ah, then kudos to you for preventing her from, well," Stoick paused to laugh, throwing his head back, "from-from bringing harm to Snotlout! Haha! And don't think I haven't heard about the scuffle you had with that cousin of yours."

Hiccup rolled his emerald eyes and removed the ice from his forehead. "Oh cmon, Dad," he complained. "You know Snotlout's in over his head."

"True enough," the man agreed with a nod of his head. "But nonetheless, I won't have any son of mine taking part of these meaningless quarrels. It reflects badly on your reputation, and on mine."

Here, Hiccup gaped. "Meaningless?" He repeated in disbelief. "No, Dad, you don't understand! He-He was going to tell everyone!"

Stoick let out another chuckle and jested, "Looks like you already took care of that, aye?"

Hiccup groaned and crossed his arms. "Whatever. I-I just... I didn't want them hearing it from Snotlout of all people. I'd want them to hear it from me, or-or Astrid, or even you! N-Not from an arrogant little-"

"Hiccup," Stoick warned, his amused gaze growing stern.

"But it's true!" The auburn-haired boy cried, more agitated than ever. "He even threatened to use the information he had as _blackmail_ if I refused to unground him. What does that say about his character?"

Stoick tilted his head to the side in surprise. "You expelled him from the academy?"

"No, no, no," Hiccup corrected himself, rubbing his forehead. "I put him on temporary suspension. And until he changes his attitude, then I just-I won't allow him back in. It's not what I want, but he's just been so horrible lately and I don't know why. I mean, I've gotten an inkling that it has to do with the marriage, but other than that, he should be over it by now. Don't you think?"

"I try not to learn Snotlout's mind," Stoick reasoned, and then put in gently, "The relationship between you and your cousin isn't a mighty good one, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Hiccup agreed, handing the man back the block of ice. "I just don't know what else to do with him. I-I've tried talking to him, but I can't go through one conversation with the guy without him insulting me."

"Aye, that's Snotlout for you," Stoick mused, patting his boy's shoulders. "I'm sure he'll snap out of it. With any luck, it might only be a phase. I'm familiar with how teenagers work. Trust me. I know for sure that you two are going to grow up and become friends. Then you'll wonder why you ever fought at all."

Hiccup seemed unconvinced. "That would be the day," he quipped. "I think the Romans would take over before Snotlout and I ever become friends."

"Aye, well, these things take time. So," Stoick said as Hiccup's gaze drifted away from his, "is that all you wanted to say to me?"

The auburn-haired boy shrugged casually, still averting his gaze from his father's sharp, piercing eyes. "Yep. For now," he responded, lightly shifting his lanky shoulder away from his father's grip. "Thanks for the talk, Dad."

"Uh-HUH," Stoick nodded, that amused, unconvinced tone back in his voice. "Well, go head upstairs," he ordered, "I'll go get supper ready and call you back down when it's time." With one last warm pat on the shoulder, the man turned his back and headed for the door. Like every other night, he would go down to the docks to retrieve fish from the fisherman and then carry the supplies back to his home.

Hiccup grimaced, the thought of haddock or cod making his stomach churn. For some reason he wasn't up for it that night. His mind was...elsewhere, and the thought of food made him queasy. He stared blankly at the large, retreating form and then suggested thoughtfully, "Actually, could I skip dinner tonight, Dad? I'm not really hungry."

The burly Viking stopped short and faced his son with confused suspicion. "Not hungry?" He questioned. Sure, his son could pass for a fishbone, but he usually had a hearty apatite.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders in an act of causality and replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, yeah, you know me. Al-Always snacking off before meals...you know."

His father gave him a skeptical look. "No, I don't know," he intoned. "Tell me."

Realizing that he couldn't fool the stoic man, the young male amended, "Dad, I...I just need to think about some things. It's not a big deal."

"No. No. It is a big deal. You need your strength, Hiccup," Stoick disagreed. "First a fight and now this? Out of the question. No son of mind is going to be off skipping meals."

Hiccup groaned at his father's melodrama. "It's only one night!" He assured. "And I remind you that the fight wasn't my fault?"

"Hiccup," Stoick warned, annoyed when his boy didn't waver under his stern glare.

Hiccup slumped. "Dad, please," he pleaded. Why couldn't his father understand? So many things had happened that day, and he needed time to process it.

"Hiccup," his dad warned once more, his voice going a few octaves higher.

"Dad," Hiccup dragged, using a mockingly similar tone that his father was using.

Stoick had enough. "HICCUP!" He barked, causing the young boy to stiffen, clamping his jaw shut. "When I tell you to do something, you'll do it without question or that...that sass of yours! Why can't you follow the _simplest_ orders?!" Hiccup opened and closed his mouth a few times, finally wavering under his father's towering form. Stoick's hard-set glare softened at the distraught boy who couldn't seem to voice a proper answer. Finally, the chief sighed. "Is this about Astrid?" He asked.

Hiccup quietly stared at the wooden floor. "Maybe," he answered softly, his hands clasped together tightly. "I-I don't know... I just, I can't stop thinking about the future."

"You're worried about her," Stoick concluded, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

Hiccup inhaled sharply. "That too."

"The baby?" Stoick guessed gently, trying to make eye-contact with his son's matching green eyes.

"Yeah," Hiccup confirmed, too embarrassed to look at his father. "I just... Dad, I need to ask you something personal."

Stoick raised his thick eyebrows. What could his son possibly ask him? The fact that Hiccup refused to look him in the eye worried him just a tick. "Alright," he approved. "What's on your mind? Out with it."

"How..." Hiccup trailed off, then gained the courage to continue, "How hard was it for you to raise me?" The look on Stoick's face made him instantly regret asking. It was a look of surprise, hurt, and remembrance. He had just brought up a very sensitive subject that they rarely talked about at all.

The chief was torn, remembering the night when his beloved wife was carried off by the one of the beasts. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end and goosebumps to rise against his skin. A horrible night, that was. Hiccup had only been a baby when it happened.

"You know, after Mom..." Hiccup didn't bother to finish the sentence, too deeply troubled himself.

Stoick inhaled sharply. His son had never asked him that question before, so what did he assume? Stoick hadn't been a very good father. Sure, he tried to keep his boy out of danger, but he never listened, he always managed to emotionally hurt the child, and he had even disowned him after finding out that he had befriended a dragon.

"Odin, it was rough without your mother," Stoick admitted, heaving his chest, "You were a difficult one to take care of, specially with the rest of the village I had to deal with. I was busy chiefing, and Gobber watched you most of the time. After your mother...passed, it was very hard to look at you because, well, you look so much like her." Hiccup grew crestfallen at this new information. "But the way I treated you wasn't your fault," the man assured the boy, "I had no sane reason to neglect you. I'll admit: I wasn't a good father to you."

Even though that was completely accurate, Hiccup couldn't bring himself to agree. Not when his father looked so beaten and shameful. "You didn't neglect me," he muttered.

"That's simply not the truth," Stoick snorted with a slight smile, pleased that his son still defended him. And then, it clicked, his face dawning. "Ah, and that's where you have to learn from."

Hiccup cocked his head to the side in clear confusion. "W-What do you mean?"

Stoick wasted no words and placed both hands on the auburn-haired boy's lanky shoulders once more, looking him right in the eye. It hurt him deeply to say this but it needed to be said. "Don't father your baby the way I fathered you."

Hiccup took a start. "The way you...?"

Stoick's throat went dry, and he forced out, "Don't neglect your child, Hiccup. Don't... Don't be the father I was."

Any resolve Hiccup might have had up until this turning point in the conversation diminished. His father was asking him _not_ to be like him? To _not_ look to his father as an example? To _not_ be like him? His whole life trying to live up to his dad and now he were told to do the opposite?

"You need to promise me that, son," Stoick ordered softly.

"Ah-I-I...Dad..." Hiccup stammered.

"Promise."

"You have no idea how strange this is," Hiccup muttered, knitting his eyebrows together in shame. "You're asking me _not_ to be like you?"

"Promise?!"

Hiccup swallowed hard and reluctantly forced out, "Promise."

Stoick smiled weakly and squeezed the young Viking's shoulders. "Good," he approved gratefully. "You need to be the parent that Valka would be if she were still here."

"Like Mom?" Hiccup's emerald eyes grew in curiosity. "H-How's that? What was she like?" Another thing that they rarely spoke about was Stoick's wife, Valka. The boy was curious about his mother, but kept quiet, fearing it would be too painful a subject for his father to speak of.

But to his surprise, the man's weak smile lightened. "Oh, you would've loved her, m' boy. She was..." He trailed off, jade eyes twinkling as they drifted off in remembrance. "She was everything. Beautiful, selfless, daring, artistic. And she lacked a prejudice for dragons." He inspected his son with love. "Just like you."

Hiccup blushed at thought of being compared to his mother and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wish I could've met her," he confessed sorrowfully. "I knew I would've loved her."

"Aye," Stoick agreed. "I wish that as well. If she were here, well, life would be very different. But what do you do when the ones you love aren't here? You celebrate them. Do you understand? You need to be attentive, caring, and understanding just like she would be if she were present."

"Yeah... Yeah, I can do that," Hiccup replied, a tiny grin forming on his face. "Wonder what she'd say about the, uh, the _breast hat,_" he coughed into his hand.

Stoick shivered at the thought. "Eh, I meant nothing by it, but she'd skin me alive. So that's one thing we probably shouldn't, um," he cleared his throat awkwardly, "you know, talk about." Hiccup covered his mouth, trying to hold in his laughter, but a few chuckles escaped.

"Oh, yeah." Hiccup smirked. "After all, _you're_ the one that gave me-"

"Hey! Didn't you say that you wanted to skip supper for tonight?" Stoick asked quickly, desperately trying to change the subject. "If you really want to go without it, I'll-I'll allow you. Just this once."

Hiccup smiled knowingly. "Thank you, Dad."

"But I expect you to finish your breakfast tomorrow. Put some meat on those bones. Do you understand me?" Stoick asked sternly, pointing a finger.

Hiccup allowed himself to beam. "Sure thing!" He agreed and trotted up the stairs before the man could reconsider. Thanks Dad!"

Stoick nodded his approval and shivered, his mind still on his wife. He glanced up to the ceiling. "It was to keep your memory alive, is all," he excused timidly. He jolted at a sudden thought. "Oh, Thor! I nearly forgot! Hiccup!"

Hiccup poked his head out the door to his room. "Yeah?" He watched his dad i'm around the room for a few seconds before retrieving something from under his bed. Stoick righted himself and approached the young Viking, something long and thin in his arms. A sword.

"Huh. Don't think I've seen you use that often," Hiccup commented. He speculated the sword with a meticulous eye and noticed that the weapon was fairly outdated. "Uh, just how long have you had that stashed underneath your bed?" The boy questioned.

Stoick smiled and held the sword out to his son. "There is a string tradition in the sagas to retrieve a sword belonging to a deceased forebear, to be given to a son of the family. This sword belonged to my father, who gave it to me on my wedding day, and now I'm giving it to you. It's yours."

"Oh wow," Hiccup exclaimed in amazement, taking the heavy weapon into his arms. He ran a hand over the dented surface but then grimaced, withdrawing his hand. "This one isn't made out of anymore breast plates, is it? I take this one isn't made out of...I don't know, your father's codpiece?" Stoick took a start.

"HICCUP!" He bellowed, causing Hiccup to jolt and make a run for it up to his room.

"Thanks for the sword, Dad!"

Stoick looked after him, letting a guilty chuckle escape him.

...

Hiccup entered his room, feeling a lot better after the talk with his father. Stoick was right. He needed to be the type of parent that wouldn't neglect, wouldn't hurt. Now, the fourteen-year-old was consumed by a familiar feeling. The same feeling he had felt when planning designs for Toothless's new tail. And that was determination. He was now determined to be the best father he could be for new developing child.

He glanced at his sketchbook with a firmness of purpose and sat down at his desk, plucking his charcoal writing-utensil from the cylinder holder. He had plans. Plans that began to transfer from mind, to charcoal, and then to leather pages as the first snowflakes of winter began to fall over Berk.

He had a morning-gift to finish as well.

...

The Hofferson household was quiet that evening. Helga and her husband Egil had just settled down for supper, but Astrid was strangely absent. The woman wasted no time in yelling for her daughter rather than getting up and going to retrieve her herself.

"ASTRID?" She bellowed, causing her husband to wince at the volume she was using.

There was no response.

"Astrid!" She called once more. "It's time for supper! Get down here before it gets cold!" Egil shot a worried glance at his wife and twiddled his fingers together.

"Ye don't think she came down with something, eh?" The man offered timidly.

"Nonsense Egil!" Helga dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Vikings rarely get sick and she is one of the strongest on the island. ASTRID HOFFERSON!" She shouted so loudly that Odin himself may have heard it.

No response.

"Astrid?" The man called out softly, completely foil to his wife's deafening battle cry.

No response.

With an annoyed groan, the woman threw down her fork and arose from her seat. "Odin, the lass has always been so difficult," she muttered indignantly as she neared the stairs. "Ever since she's been with the scrawny Haddock boy... ASTRID?!" She shouted up the wooden stairs that led to her daughter's bedroom. "Don't make me come up there!"

Finally, a muffled yell was heard and the large woman huffed once more. She trudged up the wooden stairs, the steps creaking under her weight with each stomp. Fairly agitated, Helga felt her anger melt away as soon as she caught sight of her daughter.

Astrid was lying on her bed in the fetal position, listless. A patch-quilt wrapped around her form, her dull, azure irises stared blankly out the window at the snowflakes that drifted about. It was no indication that she had heard her mother screaming her name.

For a while, Helga wondered if her daughter had actually gone deaf when finally, she spoke up, "Sorry mom," she apologized, her voice intoned. "I'm not hungry."

"Ye know that's not healthy for ye or yer child," Helga warned, and then frowned with concern as Astrid gave no answer. The large woman took a seat on the edge of bed and gently rubbed her listless daughter's shoulders. "How're ye feeling?"

"Tired," the young girl answered truthfully. "It was a long walk back from the Academy, which wouldn't be a big deal if I had Stormfly with me."

"Ye know that's not an option," Helga chastised. "Ah won't have you risk anything." Earlier, Astrid had heatedly informed her parents exactly what happened at the arena. She felt extremely guilty over Hiccup's injury and tired because of the baby. "I just..." She stared off out window, watching the snowflakes flutter onto the wooden windowsill. "I don't know. I'm not sure what to think anymore."

"Is it about that Haddock boy?"

"The Haddock boy?" Astrid frowned. "Oh. You mean _Hiccup_? My future _husband_? Whom I'm being _married_ off to on Friday for Thor's sake? Oh, I don't know. _Maybe!" _She replied sarcastically, wrapping her toned arms around herself.

Helga inhaled deeply through her nose as she struggled to remain patient. "Mah girl, if that boy causes ye any trouble, don't be afraid to use that axe of yers."

The blonde girl groaned at her mother's melodrama. "Mother, _please_. Hiccup hasn't done anything wrong. Just because he's male doesn't mean that he took advantage of me or anything."

Her mother seemed unconvinced. "Nonetheless. Don't think ah haven't forgotten about what he did to ye," Helga growled, remembering the discussion she had with Stoick. "Mead-poisoning or not, he goes off Scott free. After all, he's not the one with the evidence under his tunic."

"Mom!" Astrid snapped, slamming her fist down on the wooden bed, flushed when her mother's words seemed all too familiar to her own. "He does NOT get off Scott free! Hiccup is a strong, responsible person. He's going to be the father of our child, and he's going to raise our child from birth until he or she grows up! How does that sound "Scott-free"?" Helga was silent for a moment, considering her daughter's words.

"Aye, perhaps that is true," she murmured, stroking her fingers through her daughter's platinum locks. She calmed a bit, gazing at the fourteen-year-old girl's slightly swollen abdomen. "Ye are going to be a mother. Ah can hardly believe it meself."

Astrid bit her lip and nodded in agreement, relaxing a bit at the feeling of her mother's thick fingers massaging her scalp. "Things are moving along so quickly."

"Mah girl, it's been months," her mother pointed out. "It's about time that ye and the Haddock boy come together. Thank Thor the wedding is frīgæg. Three months is too long a wait. The boy had better prepared you a proper morning-gift."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Mom, please. Even if he didn't, I wouldn't mind. I have more important things to worry about than a silly present." Though, she _would_ be flattered if he did manage to spruce up something nice for her. The morning-gift usually included clothing, jewelry and household goods, livestock and slaves, and many times land and estates.

Astrid didn't really need anything big, and she doubted that he would give her a piece of land. Plus, clothes bored her to tears, and he knew that. Perhaps he give her something that he made himself from the Forge. She almost smiled, curiosity filling her. It would be interesting to find out. Until then, she'd have to make do.

"Speaking of presents, ye do remember that you need to present him a sword of one of our fallen ancestors for the wedding?" Helga asked quickly and suddenly. "Goodness me, ah just realized that we have many preparations to get started. Tomorrow we are off to the bathhouse to cleanse you of yer...er..."

"My maiden status?" Astrid volunteered, a sick feeling passing through her as she rested a hand on her abdomen. "I'm not exactly a maiden anymore, am I?" She asked softly.

Her mother frowned, but held her temper. "No, ye are not," she concurred. "But ah just want ye to know that even though ah don't condone yer behavior with the Ha-Hiccup, ah don't think of ye any less than ah did before. Yer still the bravest, strongest warrior on this island, and that will never change."

Astrid smiled warmly at her mother, grateful that she knew at least her parents were on her side.

...

The next day began with a sense and air of preparation and brisk. It was a specially important one for the Haddocks and Hoffersons, for it was the day that both Hiccup and Astrid would be prepared for their special day: the wedding that would secure their relationship. But what they would do that day to prepare for it was rather...torturous.

It began with Egil gently shaking awake his pregnant daughter at dawn, with the intention of guiding her to the bathhouse to be cleansed. She groggily awoke from her deep sleep, her stomach pains not lessoning any more than it had the previous day. "Come come, Astrid," he coaxed, "Ye know that mother of yers doesn't fancy to wait."

The blonde yawned tiredly and sat up, stretching her muscles with a soft pop. Rubbing her exhausted sky eyes, she asked, "Care to tell me what's happening?"

"Yer mother is taking ye to the bathhouse with the other women," her father clarified patiently, gently tugging the young Viking to her feet. "The wedding is in two days, so we must start to prepare right away." Astrid groaned at this and stumbled down the wooden stairs.

"Alright, alright," she yawned. "Tell her to keep her helmet on, I'm going!"

...

At the Haddocks, waking up in the morning, at dawn no less was definitely a heart attack-inducing experience. Stoick literally yanked the covers off of his son and bellowed, "Up and at 'em, son! TODAY IS A BIG DAY!"

Hiccup jolted and grasped his bony chest as a scream escaped past his lips. Frazzled, with his emerald eyes rapidly flickering to and fro, he stuttered, "W-W-Wha-? Da-Dad? What's ha-happen-GAH!" The large man lifted the teenager clear off his foot, stood him upright, and impatiently tugged him down the wooden stairs by his bone-thin arm. He did so before Hiccup could even grab his vest or boot. "WAIT! Where are we going?" He gasped breathlessly as he was lead out the door and into the cold air of winter. "It-It's not even light out! Oh, at least let me get my boot!" The dry, dead grass was buried under a layer of frost that bit at his remaining sole.

"Ah, you won't need those where we are going," Stoick replied briskly as they passed Toothless, who awoke by the noise and watched them with interest. "Sorry dragon! Hiccup's going to be a little busy today!" The Nightfury observed in concern and in slight amusement as his master was dragged away, toward the bathhouse. Why did Hiccup looked so frazzled? He snorted and laid his head back down.

Humans.

The bathhouse was an odd little building, separated by a wooden wall for the females and males, it consisted of some sort of built in hot spring that had been discovered at the edge of the forest. It took at least ten minutes to walk there, and by the time they arrived at their destination, poor Hiccup was freezing. "D-D-Dad, please," he shivered, teeth chattering uncontrollably as his father yanked him along. "Where are we going? And wherever we're going, are we going to stay there for a while? Because I lost all feeling in my foot! ...And a follow up question, why are you dragging me!?"

"Man up, son. You're a Viking. It's an occupational hazard!" Stoick exulted, hardly noticing his son's distress. "Oh, I thought this day would never come!" He sighed as they marched through the woods. "Ye know, I still remember the day my father took me to prepare for my wedding. Oh, the laughs we had... And Odin, I thought I would never live to see this day. I always believed I'd die before you'd ever get me any grandchildren!" His voice was humorous, but Hiccup still felt a pang of shame strike his heart at the comment.

"Thank you, for summing that up," he quipped sarcastically.

"Ah! Here we are!" Stoick announced heartily, stopping in front of the odd little building that was the bathhouse. Hiccup sighed in relief when the man finally released his arm and he rubbed it achingly. But his relieved demeanor disappeared as quickly as it had come as two familiar people arrived at the opposite end of the bathhouse.

It was Astrid and her mother.

Stoick caught sight of them too. And before Hiccup could open his mouth, he waved and bellowed, "GOOD MORNING HOFFERSONS!"

Helga nodded curtly and hollered back, "STOICK! IT SEEMS THAT WE THINK ALIKE!"

"AYE, IT DOES! WELL, DON'T LET US KEEP YOU!" Stoick threw back, and the children both eyed each other with sympathy. But before they could even get a word out to each other, their parents dragged them into the bathhouse.

Hiccup could feel his face redden as his father flung open the door, a maximum of seventeen faces beaming back at them readily. Most of them were village men, and that included a few of the teens: Tuffnut, who was sneering, Fishlegs, who was smiling kindly, and Snotlout, who looked just as skittish and distant as ever. They were all waist deep in the hot spring, without clothes of course. Hiccup closed his eyes and prayed it would all go away, but without any luck. "Welcome everyone!" Stoick greeted happily, patting his son on the back. "Today, we cleanse my boy of his bachelor status."

Hiccup gulped when Tuffnut held up a bowl of some sort of oils or herbs and dumped it into the water. He knew what it was for. Astrid and Hiccup had to be cleansed of their youth, and for Astrid, her maiden status, which was technically already taken away, so it was rather pointless. But the adults rather sticklers for tradition, so there was no room for arguing.

"Uh, D-Dad?" The young boy shivered, "Not to be rude or anything, but what are they doing here?"

Stoick chuckled. "Ah, I asked my father the same thing. All of these people have been up since the crack of dawn readying themselves to ready _you_. Now undress yourself and hop in."

Hiccup tried to keep a calm head as he stripped, trying not to think about the people staring at him. First he removed his brown leggings, and then eased his way into the warm water before taking off his belt and tunic. The heated water offered instant relief to the freezing cold air. He would've greatly enjoyed it if he weren't in the presence of so many other naked men, including his father. Surrounded by such muscular, burly Vikings that intimidatingly towered above him, he couldn't help but feel rather self-conscious about his thinness.

The process of cleansing him meant his friends literally scrubbing him down with the oils and herbs that the men had provided, much to his embarrassment, and awkward advice from the elder ones in how to _please_ a woman. He took the advice with a smile and a nod, but not much else, in fear that his discomfort would show through. Hiccup wouldn't have minded as much...except that Tuffnut kept snickering under his breath and Fishlegs looked as if he was going to throw up in response to the rather graphic subject matters. Snotlout remained quiet, which set off a vibe of discomfort through Hiccup, but he decided not to question it.

The final step of the steam bath, and equally the worst step, was to exit the spring, and take a plunge into the cold water in a tub outside, which was to cool Hiccup and close his pores, completing the cleansing. The frigid water was further associated with the wedding ritual with having herbs, flowers or oils added to it to scent the water.

By that point in time, the sun was just beginning to shine its warm rays over the pine treetops of the forest. However, it did little to warm the young bachelor, and Hiccup yearned to be at home, asleep in his own bed. The moment his skin came in contact with that frigid water, his entire body went numb. The winter air of course offered no relief.

"Ugh, D-D-D-Dad? Are-Are w-w-we d-d-done y-yet?" Hiccup cajoled, shivering uncontrollably, "P-P-Please tell me w-we-we're almost d-d-done." He frantically rubbed at his numb body parts with his stiff fingers, trying to bring back some warmth. All he got was a prickling feeling and he sat shivering, his lips actually turning a shade of blue.

The freezing cold hardly seemed to bother the older Viking as he wrung the water out of his impressive beard. "All in good time," he promised, patting his boy's head. "This is just a traditional procedure that you must go through before you marry. I take that today would be a good day to finish that morning gift for Astrid."

Hiccup grinned a small grin and gingerly stepped out of the tub, blushing heatedly as Fishlegs handed him his forest-green tunic. It was even colder outside the tub than it was inside, the freezing water clinging to his skin as the cold air bit at the droplets. "T-T-Thanks Fishlegs. S-Sorry you had t-to sit through t-that."

The cold winter air quickly dried the boy off and he immediately redressed. "Oh, anything for a friend," Fishlegs dismissed with a grin, but Hiccup could tell that the large Viking was truly disturbed by some of the older men's advice to him.

Astrid was having no more fun than Hiccup was. She went through the same procedure that he did and had to listen quietly while the older women gossiped about people in the village, including Hiccup. It didn't seem to bother them that Astrid was sitting right there while they joked and asked about her fiancé.

"Oh, ah can hardly believe it meself!" Hillevi, one of the village's seamstresses, chortled. She was currently massaging oils and sweet-smelling herbs into Astrid's hair whilst she gossiped with her friends. "One moment he's Hiccup the Useless, and now people are beginning to call him the _Dragon Conqueror. _What a title to posses!"

"Ah KNOW!" Another woman, Signy gushed. "It's hard to believe such a scrawny lad like himself could _possibly_ take down such a monstrous reptile!"

"Which one?" A middle-aged warrior named Tyra questioned, "The Red Death or the Nightfury?"

"Why, both of course!"

"Let's not forget Toothless. That Nightfury had a big part of it, remember that," Gunvor, a strong-headed woman reminded everyone. "And that, me dears, is what makes it such a strange situation. Imagine this: Hiccup with the dragons is the might hero of Berk. Take the beasts away and what is he left with? Nothing. A hiccup. Hence his name."

"True enough," Tyra agreed. "What ah'm pondering over is how he managed to tame such a beast, let alone keeping it from attacking him. We'll never know."

"He wasn't lying when he claimed to shooting down the Nightfury, eh? If we had listened to him then, that dragon wouldn't be alive. Hm. Wouldn't it have eaten him the second he was in sight?"

"Ha! The dragon probably realized that there wasn't enough meat on those bones to feast on in the first place!"

"If ah were a dragon, and he approached me with a knife, ah wouldn't be intimidated much. Ah mean, look at how skinny he is! Ye sure Stoick isn't under-feeding his son?" Giggles and squeals broke out at the last comment.

"Oh Thor, Siri! Stoick would go mad if he heard ye say that!"

"Haha! If he can't deny it, then why would he be mad?"

"Because he was once embarrassed of his boy. Ye all know that. He was always a wee laddie, he was!"

Astrid's eye twitched, anger consuming her as she was forced to listen to these bimbos talk. Honestly, what right did they have to speak of Hiccup in such a shameful way? They didn't know him like she did. How dared they? "You know," she spoke slowly, winning the attention of every woman in the bathhouse as she struggled to control her temper, "Size isn't everything. All of his accomplishments come through by how he actually uses his smarts. And let's face it, Hiccup has more brains and class in his little finger than you all have in those fat behinds of yours combined."

The women gaped at her and after realizing their mistakes, were all much quieter after her chastise.

Helga decided to pipe up. "Astrid has made a very good point," she declared calmly, surprising her daughter by her low-volume of voice. "Perhaps we should not speak so ill of him. After all, he did end a three-hundred year war."

Astrid smirked and settled back into the warm water.

...

Hiccup arrived at the Forge later that day feeling refreshed, smiling at the familiar whistle of Gobber as he pounded away at a sword. "Ah, Hiccup. Welcome back!" The man greeted cheerfully. "Word on the path is ye were cleansed in the bathhouse this very morning. How was that fer ye?" He sniffed. "Ooh! Ye smell like azaleas!"

The young teen rolled his emerald eyes and retrieved his apron. "Oh, fantastic," he replied sarcastically as he tied the seams, "Nothing better than stripping down in front of a bunch of people and being dunked into ice-cold water at the crack of dawn."

"Oh, so ye enjoyed it then?" Gobber cracked, causing his young apprentice to groan. "So what are we working on today, ey?" He asked causally, peering over Hiccup's slender shoulder as he retrieved something from the inside of his furry vest.

"Just working on Astrid's morning gift," Hiccup replied nonchalantly, "What do you think so far?" He held up the rotund, shiny object, to which Gobber inspected with a meticulous eye. "Do you think she'll like it? A silver bracelet, I mean?"

The man's eyes widened considerably. "You made this here jewelry out of silver?" He asked in amazement, taking in the detail that went into it. "How in Thor's name did you get the silver the first place?"

"It was nothing, really," Hiccup shrugged, a flush of pride tinting his freckled face. "I saved up my silver coins and forged them into the right shape. Uh, what do you think?" Gobber had to nod in approval, because it was a clearly beautiful bracelet. Just the right size to fit Astrid's small wrist, the silver shone brightly and beautifully, thanks to Hiccup's smooth craft. And if one looked close enough, he or she would notice that runic words had been delicately inscribed on the surface length of said bracelet.

_"Well considered, the woman's worth the whole of Iceland..._

_Heavy though mah heart...of Hunland, and of Denmark;_

_Not for all of England's earth and kingdoms would ah_

_Forego the golden-braided girl, ay, nor for Ireland," _Gobber read aloud, causing the blush on Hiccup's face to darken. "That's some fine, fine poetry, laddie!" He complimented, impressed. "And what elegantly formal script!

"Oh, it isn't mine," the young Viking quickly admitted modestly, tugging at his auburn locks shyly. "The poem I mean. But I remember hearing it a few times and I-you know-I just felt that it'd fit."

"Ah'm sure Astrid will love it," Gobber assured truthfully, carefully handing the silver bracelet back to the fourteen-year-old. "Then again, anything that ye've made in me Forge had always turned out to be a success in her eyes. Well, if you exclude the ah, failed contraptions. But you know what I mean."

Hiccup smiled happily, relieved that the blacksmith had only good graces for his craft. "I'm almost finished with it," he announced excitedly. "There are a few finishing touches that I need to look at and then it'll be ready by the wedding." Gobber chuckled at the boy's excitement.

"Ah, that reminds me: I'm the one crafting yer wedding rings," Gobber revealed, smirking as Hiccup turned back to him, eyes wide.

"Wow! Gobber, that's-thank you!" Hiccup thanked the man. "It's an honor!"

"Hm, something tells me that you're actually looking forward to the wedding," Gobber acknowledged. "You're brisker than usual."

Hiccup sidestepped a bit before answering. "Well, I _am_ excited. There's no doubt about that. But I'm also kinda...terrified. I mean, marriage is a whole 'nother chapter of my life, and that chapter is going to be continuous for the rest of my days. Astrid...she's going to be with me...for the rest of my life." Gobber listened quietly. "I-I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, but that's just something I'm completely inexperienced with."

"Lad," Gobber said solemnly, placing a hook hand on the boy's shoulder. "Remember this and remember it well: a happy wife equals a happy life. Understand me?" Hiccup squinted in slight confusion.

"I-I don't under-"

"Listen, Astrid is a fighter, right? And by the looks of it, she's hard to please."

"Yeah, what does that have to do with-?"

"Don't. Anger. Her," the man warned, annunciating each word slowly so that it could successfully sink in. "Ah'll say it again: happy wife, happy life."

Hiccup blinked and then grinned awkwardly. "Uh-HUH. Got it." Gobber nodded in satisfaction, not noticing Hiccup's disturbed, dazed look as he turned around once more.

The next five minutes were rather uneventful until, "Oh, Snotlout! What brings ye here?" Hiccup took a start and whirled around to see his cousin standing stiffly just outside the Forge. His hands were clenched at his sides, his eyes trained to the ground, and overall, sweaty. Hiccup watched curiously as his cousin whispered something to the blacksmith. What could Snotlout possibly want? Come to think of it, Hiccup mused, he _did_ look rather strange earlier that morning at the bathhouse. Distant, unusually quiet, not cracking insulting jokes like he used to. "Ah, well the lad's right there. Knock yourself out."

Hiccup quickly placed the bracelet in the pocket of his apron as the larger Viking approached, his eyes locked on the ground. They were quiet until Hiccup lightly coughed into his hand to gain the other boy's attention. "Hey," he greeted kindly. "You need something?"

Snotlout gave a nod of response and opened his mouth, "Hiccup...I need..." He began, wiping his sweaty forehead with a callused hand. He looked pale. "I need to tell..."

"What? Tell me what?" Hiccup's emerald eyes seemed to bore into Snotlout's own, and that was enough for Snotlout to go quiet once again. "Wha-? Snotlout, where are you going?"

But the teen had already run off.

**Author's Note: AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH! That was me screaming at the top of my lungs. It took me _so_ long to write this chapter, that you have no idea how exhausted my fingers are. Day after day of research and typing...and typing...and getting sick...and typing. But on the brighter side we are finally getting to the wedding of Astrid and Hiccup-THANK THE LORD! **

**And it won't be long till we dwell into the married life of Hiccstrid. Yay. And it won't be long after _that_ until the baby is born-in the harshest conditions I might add. I won't give anything away other then the baby being born on Snoggletog. You know, the same Snoggletog where the dragons flew away to have their babies. There will be more conflict around that, I promise you. Until then: MORE FREAKING TYPING WITH MY THUMBS!**

**If there are any grammar or spelling mistakes please tell me so I can fix them.**

**PS: You Fanrats had better add my story to favorites or follows because I can't take all this typing! GAAAAAAAAAAH!**

**And I noticed that last chapter my account URL refused to show up, so if anyone is interested, when you go to deviantArt just type in EmmaLennyEddie in the search bar. I _will_ show up. Stay awesome everyone.**


	5. Mishap by Wedding Part Two

**Author's note: Hello once again, my faithful, faithful Fanrats. I can't tell you how surprised I am by the success of this story so far. I mean, by GOSH! Over eighty followers and fifty favorites?! Holy cow, I never thought I'd get this far! In all seriousness, I would never have guessed that the story would gain this much popularity compared to my other stories. *sniff* True readers, you are!**

**Commence the responses:**

**FluentFletcher2: Grammar is super important, ey? I love how you say that while you spelled "here" wrong in your review. Hah! But seriously, thank you. I find it interesting that you want to get back into Snotlout's point of view, and trust me, I'll definitely do that. The story began with his perspective and it should include said perspective so much more. Though, this IS technically a Hiccstrid/Cousin story, so there it is. Thanks so much for your input and have a nice day! **

**Travellerofadifferentpath: I couldn't agree with you more. Bathing ritual: a guaranteed way to humiliate and rid yourself of dignity. (I made an attempt to say, "Giggling group of gossiping girls" five times as fast, and I do believe I broke my tongue. Thank you. Reads "pass parental prowess in providing proper parenting") Oh Christ, ANOTHER ONE?! **

**Jadesunset: Thank you so much, and yes, I'm feeling a lot better now, thank you! :D I hope I don't torture you anymore by not updating quick enough.**

**Guest: O.****Õ****J-JESUS... I don't think her drink is ****_that_**** terrible... *gulp* R-Right? Meh. Probably. But what if she isn't even there to give him the drink? *sly grin* Who knows...? Ps: You totally sounded like Fishlegs there! XD**

**Diskonnect: Thanks for clearing that up with me. I'm glad we came to an agreement. ^^**

**aricawebb13: Aw, thank you for adding my story to your favorites and follows! It really warms my heart. You are a true Fanrat! :D Oh, and I can't wait until the birth. It's going to be suspenseful, I can tell you that right now, and DANGEROUS.**

**Scorpion6955: Yep, old Snotlout's beginning to crack from the guilt and I can't say I blame him. Especially since he KNOWS how dangerous it's going to be during Devastating Winter for the baby. He's got a lot of weight on his shoulders that he's been carrying. Only time will tell when he confesses. Thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**SharKohen: OMIGOSH! Awkward Hiccup is literally the cutest thing in the world and so much fun to write! So you don't think the baby will survive? Hm... Interesting proposal. But hey, you never know... UNTIL I WRITE IT! MWAHAHAHAHA! *cough* *cough* Thanks so much the review!**

**A Person Who Likes Comedy: You found my DeviantArt account? I found YOUR DeviantArt account. ... Yyyyeah. Nice drawings you got there. *chuckles nervously* Alright, back to business. If Snotlout were ever to crack, it might be to Fishlegs, since he's the only sane one in the group besides Hiccup. He also might be able to give a good talking-to if Snotlout needed it. Interesting. Thanks for the review!**

**Hopelessromanticforlife: *laughs back* Love your name by the way!**

**HugsandBugsSmileyface: Tada! The wedding is NOW! And...you love this? *sniff* Such a sweet Fanrat... Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :'D**

**Noname: Grammar Nazi, huh? You're not much of a Spelling Nazi, hm? Miss You-spelled-Gobber-wrong-in-your-review! No, but seriously. Thank you for the tip! I hope you continue to Grammar Nazi my story. ;)**

**Guest: inhales deeply I SHALL NOT DISCONTINUE! I WILL FIGHT TO THE END TO FINISH THIS STORY AND GRANT YOU THE ENDING YOU DESERVE!**

**CassandraDayTree: See ya at school. *rubs hands together evilly***

**StormTooth: It actually never crossed my mind to make Toothless and Stormfly a couple. That would be interesting, considering the circumstances. However, I'm not so sure how that would work realistically, since they're different classes of dragon. Hm. I would have to ask what the public thinks. Speaking of... If you guys like or don't like the idea of Toothless and Stormfly mating, you can now cast your vote on my new poll.**

**I said it before and I'll say it again: There are absolutely no swear words in my vocabulary.**

Chapter 5: _Mishap by Wedding Part Two_

It took a moment for the auburn-haired boy to process Snotlout's out-of-nowhere elude, but when he did, he began to shout for him. "Snotlout, wait! Where're you going?" Hiccup cried, but his cousin was already a dot in the distance as he sped away, leaving the younger Viking in a thick cloud of confusion. "What the-?" He spluttered in evident uncertainty, "W-Why did he just-?"

"Eh? Gone already?" Asked Gobber, who hadn't seen Snotlout flee for his life. "Was that it?" He asked himself, taking a moment or two to absorb this newfound information, and then shrugged. "Hm. That was rather quick for me tastes."

Hiccup, who was still in a daze by Snotlout's abrupt, fleeting exit, shook his head clear. "Honestly," he repined, turning back to his personal work desk with a grumble. "Snotlout's been acting weird for a while, so this is nothing new. But he's never run away from me before like that. Pfft. Well, except for those two times at the Thawfest Games...but... I-I don't know what's wrong with him, and he won't talk to me. For example..." He gestured toward the boy's retreating form.

"Ay! Didn't ye make amends with each other?" Gobber instituted, and then shook his head disapprovingly. "Thor almighty, Hiccup! It took me _three_ painstaking hours to convince Snotlout to apologize to ye!"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. And I'm sorry about that, but... Uh, I mean-I-It wasn't my fault that he just took off," Hiccup defended himself. "I don't have a clue what's going on, and it's stressing me out!"

"Oh, so he didn't tell ye then?" Gobber queried with his hands on his hips, causing Hiccup to raise an eyebrow.

"Uh, tell me...what?" He ventured cautiously.

The middle-aged man merely shrugged and turned back to his work, leaving a very puzzled Hiccup in the dust. "Ah can't say ah know, lad," he said candidly, "All ah know is that Snotlout told me that it was very, VERY important." The auburn-haired boy sighed in infuriation and glanced back to where his cousin had disappeared with half-lidded eyes.

If it were _that _significant, than why did Snotlout just run away all willy-nilly the way he did? Unless...he did something boisterous and he didn't want Hiccup to know? But in the past, Snotlout had always been proud to publicize he'd been disobedient and never had a problem with rubbing it in Hiccup's face.

So what in Thor's name was going on?

...

The male in question refused to reply to his cousin as he tore away, leaving the Forge far behind. He became winded quickly due to he fact that he was sprinting as fast as he could sprint at a badly paced run. "Oh,_Thor_," he panted, clutching his ribcage, "I can't do it," he moaned, stomach churning in protest as he over-exerted his body. "I-I won't do it! I won't!"

_"Coward!"_ That dastardly voice screamed at Snotlout as he frantically weaved in and out of the village houses, blindly shoving past a few villagers, who shouted angrily at him. But he didn't care what they thought of him now. Besides, it couldn't be any worse than what they _would_ think of him if they knew his "little" secret. _"You are a snot-faced coward!" _The voice vociferated. "_A coward!"_

"I'm no coward!" Snotlout denied angrily, pausing to wipe his brow of the beads of sweat that were beginning to collect. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be on my s-?"

-_"Oh, yes you are!"_

"Oh, come off it!" The boy seethed as he dashed through the plaza. "I thought you didn't want me to say anything! *huff* You're the one that told me that it'd be better if nobody knew in the first place! *huff* That Stoick would have me exiled! *huff* That Astrid would kill me!"

_"That was before I realized that you wanted to profess. I assumed if you were actually going to, I'd shrug along and presume you'd at least do it like a true Jorgenson. But no. You run away with your tail between your legs, just like a fraidy-Terrible Terror."_

Snotlout scowled at nothing in particular as he ran. He had always hated being compared to those annoying little beasts_._

_"Why would you want to confess, anyway?" _The voice interrogated. "_They wouldn't have found out if you had just kept quiet. It's been three months and they still haven't gotten a hunch." _

Snotlout didn't answer aloud as he finally slowed, coming to a rest. "_Something's been happening to me_," he thought despondently, resting a clammy hand over his abdomen. "_It started a few weeks ago. It's like this hollow feeling in my stomach, this ache in my chest, this clamminess in my hands, my legs feel kinda numb.._."

_"You're in love?"_

"What?! NO!" Snotlout cried angrily, causing a nearby female Viking to stare at him in confusion and slight trepidation before slowly backing away into her home. "That's not love!" The boy griped, accentuating with a flip of his hands. "It's called guilt, you stupid, STUPID voice!"

Said voice coolly replied, "_Who's stupid?"_

Snotlout sneered, "You! Hello? I just said it! And you ought to know, considering you're a part of me!"

_"Well, then you're the one to talk, genius. Snotlout Jorgenson, the only Viking with a need to talk to himself to figure out his own personal problems. Sad, really."_

"Alright, alright, whatever," Snotlout riposted with a roll of his eyes, leaning back against the wooden wall of a house to relish in the shade. He wasn't about to let the imaginary voice discourse his own mentality. "Here's the deal," he said, "and I'll give it to you plain and simple."

_"Ah, the moment of truth."_

"I... *sigh* I feel guilty, alright? Astrid is pregnant and Hiccup is going to be a father to a baby who probably won't even survive, and it's all my fault. Okay?"

"_Okay_," the voice repeated, and then acknowledged, "_So what exactly will you gain by telling Hiccup_?"

That made Snotlout thoughtful. In all honesty, what _did_ he have to gain by confessing to the world? It certainly wouldn't do him any good, and he'd probably be on a diet of a certain-someone's axe by that point. And it made him sick to think what Chief Stoick would do to him if he found out that he was the one that practically poisoned his son. "I don't want to feel guilty anymore," he admitted, adjusting his helmet to settle slightly over his chocolate eyes. "I want to get it off my chest, I guess."

"_Ah," _the voice cogitated_. "So it's not like you were going do confess because you felt like Hiccup had a right to know, but for your own benefit. Am I right?"_

"No!" The boy sharply denied, rubbing his forehead in agitation. "...Maybe. Sort of. Ugh...Yes," he finally admitted, causing the voice chuckle. He frowned in rebuttal. "I just-UGH! Why do these things always happen to me?! Why?! I mean, I know I'm kinda, sorta, maybe a little competitive, but come ON!" It was during his reflective rant that he began to feel lightheaded, the long-term anxiety having a major affect on his senses. "Why do these things always happen to me?!"

_"Face it. You can be a real mutton-head sometimes_," the voice calmly pointed out, causing Snotlout to growl in annoyance.

"That's beside the point," he snarled, aggressively stalking out into the open to clear his head, the warm rays of the sun calming his erratic nerves a bit. After a moment's consideration, he decided to himself, "I'll tell Hiccup when I'm ready. Better him than Astrid, since he couldn't beat me up even if he wanted to. So until then, stay out of my head!"

_"Hmph. Fine then," _the voice complied._ "But I'm still betting the two yaks she'll pound you to the ground when you avow your crime."_

Snotlout stiffened, thoroughly offended, but before he could say anything in response:

"Snotlout! Hey, Snotlout!" Came the call of a familiar voice before he could come up with a proper retort, causing him to groan. "What now?" He complained, turning to see a very suspicious-looking Fishlegs waddling towards him. A pang of fear struck his heart. Surely _Fishlegs_ wasn't on to him, was he not? Nah...He was becoming paranoid.

"Snotlout! Snotlout, I've... I've been looking everywhere for you-" the panting Viking huffed, only to be cut off when Snotlout let out a characteristic snort.

"Not now, 'Legs," he rudely dismissed with a flippant wave of his hand. "In case you haven't heard, I have some personal issues to work out, and I don't want anyone interrupting, and that includes you," he added when Fishlegs crossed his arms.

"Um, no. I haven't heard. Your feelings aren't a part of the grapevine, you know? But I think this may be involved with some of those "personal issues" you're having," Fishlegs inquired courteously, but still wearing a suspicious expression. Snotlout raised a bushy eyebrow in confusion and shifted uncomfortably, crossing his arms over his chest for a sense of security. Why was the larger boy looking at him like that? Was he really onto him?

"I've been thinking." Fishlegs licked his slightly chapped lips before asking, "Do you remember that night after Hiccup woke up? The celebratory dinner? The mutton?"

Snotlout felt his heart stop, and he was afraid that Fishlegs had noticed the sudden stiffness of his body. "Um...Y-Yeah," he replied fretfully, making an attempt to keep a calm, cool air about him. "So what?"

It was a few moments before the larger Viking continued with, "Now, I'm not making any assumptions..." He paused, and amended sheepishly, "Well, yes. Perhaps I am. But look, you just seemed really hostile that night. Calling Hiccup names, glaring at your food, storming out," he counted off his fingers, "All in all, you were acting very peculiar."

Snotlout huffed uneasily, beads of sweat collecting at his forehead, his entire body beginning to go clammy. "Your point?" He whispered.

"My point, if you must know," Fishlegs said rather sternly, "is that I'm beginning to suspect that your hostility somehow ties in with what happened to Astrid and Hiccup."

He jolted. Odin _above_, he WAS onto him! "No!" Snotlout panicked, shoving a finger in his acquaintance's face. "Whatever you're thinking-just stop it! Stop it right there! I had absolutely nothing to do with what they did! They did by themselves, okay? I did nothing!"

"They were inebriated-"

"Not _my_ fault!" The infuriated Viking shouted, gritting his teeth whilst his face went white with rage.

"Snotlout... What's going on?" Fishlegs asked, taking no notice of the finger shoved in his face, a concerned lull diminishing the suspicious glare. "You've been acting weird all day. Something's been getting you down. And it hasn't been just today, it's been the day since... Since..." At that moment in time, a look of comprehension overtook Fishlegs's face and he quietly asked, "Is there something you wanna talk about?"

Snotlout didn't hesitate, and though inside he was screaming yes, he replied with, "No." He inhaled deeply and repeated the lie once more, his chocolate eyes flickering to the dirt. "No. I don't have anything to say. Now back off before you get a daily dose of Vitamin Fist."

Fishlegs was unconvinced, but backed off anyway for his own sake.

_..._

The next day couldn't have arrived slower for Hiccup and Astrid. The night before, Hiccup had finally completed Astrid's morning-gift and was rather proud of it if he did say so himself. Before he had gone to bed, he placed it in a small wooden box that he usually kept his parchments. Satisfied, he settled for the night, and Astrid, who was not too far away, did the same.

It only took a few whopping moments for Hiccup to realize that he was never going to go to sleep on his own. The knowledge of what was about to happen the next day was fueling his anxiety, nervousness, and slight excitement. Every other second he would adjust his blanket and turn from side to side, desperately trying to get comfortable, only to change his position again. He sighed, staring into the inky darkness of his room, and sat up, listening to the chirp of crickets from beyond the walls of his home in the dead of night. This was the last night, he realized, that he would spend in his room alone.

Troubled by this information, Hiccup's grip on the blanket tightened until his knuckles turned white. "Dad?" He called out softly, and listened intently for an answer, his heart rate quickening.

When he received no response, he shivered, the winter drafts taking their toll on his room. It was bone chilling. There were even tiny bits of frost appearing on the wooden windowsill. Great, another visit from Jack Frost. Just what he needed. He _would_ have packed on more layers of furs for his bedding, but that was considered wussy to Vikings. And he wasn't a wuss...right?

For a moment, he considered taking a quick ride on Toothless...but... Something stopped him.

With a tired yawn, the young boy arose from his wooden bed and quietly stole downstairs to where his father was currently residing in his own bed. Hiccup wasn't quite sure what his intention was in doing this. Perhaps he knew in his heart that this was technically his last night as a boy in his father's eyes, now that he was getting married. Or was it for comfort? Or a wanton need for embrace that his dragon couldn't give him?

Hiccup decided that he didn't care. Rubbing his tired emerald eyes, the fourteen-year-old quietly trudged over to his father's sleeping form and undid his prosthetic leg before placing his hands on the edge of the bed. He was going to try to do this without awakening Stoick, but the moment he put the tiniest bit of his own weight on the bed, the wood creaked, causing his father to awaken from his light slumber.

The two males stared at each other for a moment, neither of them speaking. The Chief soon nodded, somehow realizing Hiccup's intentions and shifted his weight to one side of the bed to make room for his young son, lifting his woolen blanket. Hiccup took up the offer gratefully and dragged his tired, anxiety-ridden form onto the wooden bed and snuggled under the blankets. Moving sluggishly, he flopped his head next to his father's on the furry pillow, his longish locks spreading out across the fabric.

Comforted by the soft, rhythmic breathing of his father, Hiccup curled up into a ball and once again closed his emerald eyes. He soon reopened them as he felt his father's strong, muscular arms wrap around his waist and hold him close. His eyes gaped, and he instinctually stiffened at the unfamiliar contact, instant warmth spreading throughout his frigid body. Elated by this unexpected move of affection, he tried to tilt his head up to catch a glimpse of his father's face, but it was much too dark to see anything, so he laid his head back down.

It was strange at first. This snuggling. The last time the father and son had cuddled was back when Hiccup was perhaps three or four. And that was to comfort him when he sobbed over his lost mother. As Hiccup grew older, the nighttime snuggles decreased. Stoick the Vast seemed openly embarrassed about doing something so un-Viking with his son, whom he told to man up and dry his tears. But not this time.

Stoick hummed absentmindedly, gently stroking his callused fingers through his boy's auburn locks, pressing said boy's head against his broad chest. "Hiccup," he whispered hoarsely, the winter air drying his throat.

"Y-Yeah, Dad?" Came the small reply of his son.

With a weak smile, Stoick slightly pulled away from his child and placed a hand under his chin, tilting his head up to face him, their tired, matching emeralds meeting. He could hardly form words as he gazed upon his son's face that so deeply resembled his late wife.

His little boy... His fragile baby boy...was growing up. "Ah want you to know," he swallowed, stroking Hiccup's freckled jawline with his thumb, "that as a father, I know that you have what it takes to be a great parent. You've done and been through so much," he sagely murmured, cupping the auburn-haired boy's cheeks with his palms. "And nobody is more surprised, or proud of you than me, mah son. So, so proud."

Hiccup grinned, a warm, fuzzy feeling invading his chest. "Dad..." He trailed off, a yawn interrupting him as he smiled a sleepy smile. "Thanks for...you know... Thank you." And he buried his face back in the man's chest without another word, his lanky arms wrapping around the large form as best as he could manage.

"Goodnight, son," Stoick whispered, surprising Hiccup beyond comprehension with a kiss to the top of the head. It was that genuine comfort that finally prompted the young male to doze off in the arms of his father, the ordeals of tomorrow abandoning his dream world.

"Valka would have been proud of you too."

...

Astrid had no better luck going to sleep that night than Hiccup did, roused by the ordeals of the next day. But rather than seek the comfort of her parents like Hiccup had, she preferred to keep to herself when she had an issue. She was like that: independent, always taking on challenges alone instead of gratefully accepting help from anyone else.

But this isolation seem to work against her, for nearly a third of the night, she merely lay awake to stare at the ceiling, completely listless and unable to push the unwanted thoughts of tomorrow out of her head. It was clear she was more resentful towards the marriage plan than Hiccup was. Well, not resentful _exactly_, but she wasn't too keen with change. It was either she didn't like it, afraid of it, or both. Not that she was going to admit it, though.

"_Enjoy yer room while ye can, Astrid_," he mother had told her earlier. "_It'll be yer last night in it_." The girl, embarrassingly enough, cringed at the thought of leaving behind her personal nook to reside in Hiccup's own. His _bed_. It was a queer thought.

On her bedside table, a melting wax candle flickered its golden light, gleaming its gleam off the walls, which created a copious amount of shadow silhouettes that included her own very pregnant self's shadow.

The abundant silence was uncomfortable to the young girl, and she rested a hand over her swollen abdomen that was hidden underneath the blankets, her usually sensible mind lost in thought. She wasn't entirely sure what prompted her to do what she did next in the first place, but what she did was something that would stick with her for the rest of her days.

"It's weird to know that you're inside me," Astrid stated aloud, one hand resting behind her head and the other rubbing her tummy. Well aware that this was a goofy thing for her to do, she actually managed a quick laugh.

"Great," the blonde chuckled, lowering her azure eyes to a half-lidded state. "I'm talking to someone that can't even hear me. It's exactly what all the other mothers do when they're pregnant. Heh. I'm turning into one of them." She was thoughtful for a moment before asking curiously and carefully. "You...You can't hear me, can you?" She whispered, and then caught herself, rolling her eyes at the prospect. "No. No, that's impossible," she scoffed and than as an afterthought, "Is it?" She was in doubt, but there was a possibility.

"Man, that would be pretty strange," she mused, "and a little scary, because I think I've said a lot of things that little ones shouldn't be hearing." Astrid sighed and giggled in spite of herself. "Hiccup would be having a laugh at that. He's your daddy, you know."

Astrid frowned. It felt strange to refer to Hiccup as a "daddy", and she repeated it again to get a feel for it. "Your...your daddy and I are getting married tomorrow. It's going to be a...an interesting day." The blonde bit her lip and admitted, "If I'm honest with myself, I'm not really sure if I'm ready for this."

Realizing she sounded a touch too negative, the girl forced herself to laugh a nonchalant laugh. "Again, that probably sounds very weird. Astrid Hofferson, not been able to take on a challenge in the perfect mindset. Well," she said with a bit of flourish, "this isn't like a physical exercise or a target practice; this is something that's going to affect me for the rest of my life and yours too."

With a grunt, Astrid turned over on her side to get into a comfortable position and grimaced. Her larger stomach always seemed to get in the way nowadays. And it annoyed her that it would only grow larger as the baby inside her continued to develop. "Man, would you just hurry up and grow!" She growled almost irritably, gently poking against the bulge of her stomach with her finger. "I really wanna get this over with and I'm sure Hiccup does too."

The female Viking kept her gaze to the wall, watching the shadows dance before her eyes as a strange feeling consume her. She clutched her abdomen in an almost motherly instinctual way. "Devastating Winter's gonna be a hassle," she commented, her brows furrowing together in what she gathered was worry. Her voice lowered. "I mean, I usually wouldn't say this, but because Hiccup's your daddy..." She trailed off and swallowed hard. "No offense to him, but he's pretty, um... Not like, weak or anything, but..." Oh, who was she kidding? Hiccup _was_ a rather weak person in a physical aspect. There was no denying it. He was dignified as a scrawny little fishbone compared to the typical burly Viking build that evey other man in his tribe possessed.

"I'm a little worried that you'll be..." She coughed, purposely stalling. "...That you'll be like...like a little hiccup yourself." She hadn't meant it as if the baby DID turn out to be like the father, she'd be ashamed. No, she was concerned about her child's health and safety. Smaller babies usually had a shorter lifespan in general, but with Devastating Winter on the list... Astrid shivered, banishing the troubling thoughts from her mind for her own sake.

Whatever was to come, she had to be prepared for it for her child. And she would do it with the perfect mindset, determined to start the next day.

...

The Next Day:

Thus began the final preparations of the bride, much to Astrid's disappointment. Another day of prepping and preening... Fantastic. After another very early awakening, Astrid allowed herself to be dragged downstairs and sat down. Today involved dressing her for the ceremony itself.

Her trademark braid was unraveled and her unkempt golden hair was smoothed and combed out for the day, since the wedding ceremony and the feast would be the last times she would wear her hair unbound and uncovered.

The village women had certainly learned their lesson about gossiping, at least around Astrid, and they were completely silent as they swiftly worked on her hair, only speaking to mutter something unrelated to each other. Helga circled her daughter with her large arms folded across her chest, pride evident on her face, as well as stationary caution.

"Now remember dear," Helga spoke briskly, yet oddly dark in a sense. "If 'e tries anything before th' consummation, ye sink that axe of yers into 'is skull and don't remove it 'till the body stops shakin'."

Astrid stiffened in surprise and clenched her fists as a rippled gasp echoed throughout the house. Some of the women cringed, and from the corner of the room, her father winced. Sometimes Helga's use of graphic imagery startled him. "Mom," the fourteen-year-old groaned in annoyance, rubbing the space between her tired azure eyes, "we went over this a thousand times, but I'll say it again: Hiccup is far too respectful to be doing anything like that at all. Trust me. He's more embarrassed about it than I am."

Oh yeah. She forgot. About the consummation... She closed her eyes. Yippee.

Helga seemed unconvinced. "Well," the large woman went on with a bit of flourish, "If ah suspect anything, ah won't blame ye. Ye know that. But 'im?" Her eyes narrowed. "If ah see 'im do anything at all, ah'll take care of it meself. Put me hands to good use. Catch mah drift?" She cracked her neck to the side.

Astrid rolled her eyes, not taking her mother seriously. "Sure Mother. Whatever," she replied gruffly, examining her blunt nails. Willing to change the subject to a more positive aspect, she asked, "So, when does the ceremony actually start?"

"Later today," Helga waved off, "It shall be held outdoors, either in the open or at a site such as a grove or a sacred vé. What's yer pick? Either way, we'll have more witnesses."

"Um..." Truly, Astrid couldn't have cared less. "The...grove?"

"The grove it is!" Helga announced, slamming her fists together. "Fellow Vikings, let us make haste!"

Astrid wasn't sure why she felt a sudden wave of nervousness wash over her. "Oh, man..."

...

"Uh, Dad? Why do I have to wear this thing again?" Hiccup asked for the third time, scratching irritably at his shoulder. Draped over said shoulders was a heavy, oversized fur cape, much like the one his father adorned. It was incredibly uncomfortable and stuffy and Hiccup felt the urge to remove it the moment Stoick turned his back. "Never mind the size, but man..." He cringed, twitching, "It itches..."

The gargantuan Viking rolled his emerald eyes for the millionth time that morning and sighed. "It's _tradition_," he simply replied, gripping his son by the shoulders. "Which you seem to have a ball rebelling against, but not this time. You want to look your best at the ceremony. To make a fine impression on the girl's parents, ey?" After a quick adjustment to the silver piece that held the shoulder parts intact, he took a step back. "Alright son, turn around. Lemme get a good look at ye," he commanded, twirling his finger.

The fourteen-year-old frowned but hesitantly complied, struggling to rotate his body 180 degrees, which caused the oversized cape to drag heavily along the floorboards. It was a peculiar sight, and Stoick placed a hand over his mouth, observing thoughtfully. He was about to make a comment about how Hiccup would eventually grow into that day if they were lucky, but for his son's sake and dignity, decided against it. Instead he said with noticeable lackluster, "Good enough. Ey, stand straight and proud, son! No hunching. Today, you become a Viking."

"Oh, NOW I'm a Viking. Pfft! Good enough..." Hiccup remarked sarcastically, and bit his lip under his father's glare. "Ah. Thanks. Thanks, Dad," he muttered sorrowfully, and scratched at his neckline. "Ugh, never mind the itching; I just wish it didn't weigh over *grunt* a hundred yaks." He strained under the weight, tugging at the shoulder parts feverishly, hoping the adjustment would make it more comfortable.

"Wormsquat," Stoick dismissed carelessly, and then, "I assume you have the morning-gift for Astrid in your possession?"

Hiccup's face dawned in realization and lit up. "Oh! Oh yeah, yeah!" He replied, hands fumbling a bit. "I've got it...Here it is; it's right here!" Beaming proudly, he retrieved the small wooden box from his side and opened it up for his father to see, eager to show off his handiwork. "You think Astrid'll like it?" He questioned hopefully, observing the man's reaction. "Made it myself, you know."

Stoick inspected the bracelet in the palm of the boy, not all surprised that his son had handmade the morning-gift, and nodded in approval. "It's very detailed," he complimented kindly. "But are you sure she wouldn't want something a bit more-" he stopped at the pained expression on his son's face, searching for the right words. It was traditional for the morning-gift to consist of pieces of land, clothes, or even status in general. He was concerned that Astrid may not appreciate his son's morning-gift for what it was.

"I just wanted to give her something different," Hiccup muttered forlornly. He cradled the prized gift in his palms, looking quite dejected.

Inwardly, Stoick slapped himself. Hard. How did he always manage to emotionally hurt his son without even trying? Never mind," he quickly amended, roughly patting the auburn-haired boy on the lanky shoulder. "It's a fine gift; I'm sure she'll be gracious."

Hiccup could only roll his emerald eyes. "Good enough," he sighed, snapping the wooden lid shut.

...

Later that day...

The grove for which the ceremony was held was nothing more than a small cluster of trees near the edge of the woods. Nothing too glamorous for a wedding, Astrid commented silently as she stood on the small, raised platform with her hands folded respectively. Normally, she wouldn't bother herself with such things, but the young Viking was far too nervous about the occasion at hand and needed a distraction.

This was it. The big moment. The wedding at last. Ominous clouds of Thor above rumbled importantly to mark this moment.

Hiccup stood across from Astrid, clutching his ancestral sword with both hands and struggling under its weight. His cape, the girl noted in amusement, seemed rather heavy as well. She chuckled in spite of herself, feeling a giddy nervousness of what was happening.

If it were possible, her male counterpart felt an even heavier load of anxiety and nervousness than she did. This was evident by the way he would constantly shift his weight from foot to prosthetic foot, bite his bottom lip until it turned a cherry red, avoid eye contact, and sweat like crazy. But nobody had the right to blame him. Who wouldn't be nervous on their wedding day, and at such a young age? Even Astrid had to admit the nerve-wracking anxiety she was experiencing.

After finally readying herself for the ceremony, Astrid had been escorted to the grove by a few of her female counterparts by the arms, no less. And now as she stood before the entire village on a slightly raised platform, every single one of them could get a perfect view of her very-pregnant self. Even as Stoick spoke in his regal, Chief-like bellow, she could still make out the whispers and stares directed at her abdomen.

_"The Hofferson girl's pregnant after all!"_

_"Did ye see that?"_

_"Ah did indeed! There's a growing young one within her."_

_"Without a doubt."_

_"The child... It is his, right?"_

_"Oh, without a doubt!"_

_"Thank Thor..."_

_"What, you honestly thought she would be that undignified as to be the mother of some bastard child." _

_"So, Hiccup is the father for sure? It isn't a bastard child?"_

_"No, no. Bjorn, it's his. Did you think the Chief's son would marry her out of pity?"_

Astrid consciously crossed her arms over her chest at the notion until her mother hissed at her to keep her arms at her sides. Her mother, Ruffnut, and a few other village women were her maids of honor and stood behind her. Hiccup's groomsmen consisted of his father, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and a few other married men from the village.

For the first couple of minutes of the ceremony, things went along smoothly enough. The odds of fair weather seemed to be in their favor; not too sunny and not too cold, a light breeze here and there. It was up until Stoick began a speech that even Fishlegs, who was always attentive, eventually grew bored of. As it went on, there was an occasional yawn from one of the villagers, a rubbing at the eyes, and even the occasional snore from Mildew. Unfortunately, the twins of course grew bored as well and became restless.

Astrid closed her eyes for a moment as Tuffnut continuously made obscene gestures to his sister, who stood behind Astrid, and shot lewd ones straight back that went unnoticed...during the whole of Stoick's speech. Astrid tried extremely hard not to growl in agitation as her face burned in embarrassment.

_"Seriously guys_?" She thought furiously. "_On my wedding day?" _Normally, she wouldn't have minded as much, but this was different. This was THE day! The day that would open up and commence a brand-new chapter of her life.

Standing right across from her and well aware of the twins' antics, Hiccup tried to make up for it by trying to stand proudly and regally in his traditional outfit. It was for the ceremony after all, but it was notably oversized for his stature, along with the gargantuan ancestral sword that was starting to cut into his arms. Those kept him slightly hunched over. Not to mention that he kept twitching his shoulders, due to the itchiness of the cape. Astrid grinned, causing him to blush knowingly.

At least the female Viking wasn't the only uncomfortable person there. She had to wear this huge, costumed crown that engaged women traditionally wore during the ceremony and feast that came after. It had too many characteristics of a flowery bush that had been placed upon her head, making her resemble a walking shrub.

Oh, how she would have much rather been decked out in a tunic than that thing. Her cheeks felt warm after catching Hiccup staring in amusement at it a few times. At least, that's what she assumed. In reality, he couldn't stop looking at her golden hair that cascaded down her back like a shiny river of sunshine. "Beautiful," he thought dreamily, a goofy grin spreading across his jawline.

As the ceremony went on after Stoick's speech finally drew to a close, the sacrificial goat for Thor and the sow for Freyja were brought up to the alter at some point, mooing and baaing. Hiccup found that he couldn't help but wince as their throats were slit and the blood that streamed from the wounds were collected in a bowl consecrated for that purpose. Add that to his already acute queasiness, he felt ill to his stomach. Astrid didn't seem to mind, but it _was_ Astrid.

The crimson-filled bowl was then placed by Mulch, on an altar built of heaped stones, and a bundle of fir-twigs dipped into the liquid. He then used an hlaut-teinn branch to collect some of the blood.

Hiccup's emerald eyes widened just the slightest, for he knew what came next.

With a bit of help from Mulch, Bucket dipped the branch into the lavender liquid and with a gentle, short downwards movement and a swift movement from left to right that followed suit, sprinkled the dismayed couple and assembled guests.

It was all Hiccup could do not to throw up as the redness softly splattered against his cheeks. He knew that it was in order to confer the blessings of the gods upon them, but it was nonetheless unpleasant. Bucket only stopped when he effectively sprayed every guest. Astrid noted with concern that Hiccup began to look positively green, swaying a bit and struggling with the large sword in his arms.

"Now," Stoick announced, gesturing his son forward, "The groom will now present his bride with the sword of his ancestors, which he has so recently recovered." Hiccup smiled a weak smile of relief and stepped forward, eager to give away the heavy weapon that he strained to carry alone.

Astrid took it embarrassingly easily and traded him with the sword of her own ancestors, causing Hiccup to frown as he struggled once again with an equally heavy weapon. Stoick smiled at the two, his chest puffed out with evident pride for the fourteen-year-olds. "This interchange of gifts," he then bellowed, "typifies for them the most sacred bond of union, sanctified by mystic rites under the favor of the presiding deities of wedlock."

"Blah, blah, bl-AH!" Tuffnut mocked, only to be cut off by a delivered smack in the head from Gobber.

Astrid let out a small snicker, trying not to let her blush give away how nervous and excited she was. Her mother quickly made her way over to her daughter's side and gently retrieved the sword, making a side-glance at the young male before quietly returning to her spot.

Ruffnut ogled at the weapon, running her fingers over the fine blade with fascination. The ancestral sword of the Haddocks supposedly signified the traditions of the family and the continuation of the bloodline. The sword given to the Hiccup by the Hofferson's symbolized the transfer of the father's power of guardianship and protection over the bride to him. Astrid was supposed to hold this sword for her son, if she ever had one.

_"Tradition_," the female Viking thought sarcastically, "_Well, at least I get a sword out of it."_

Following the exchange of said swords, Astrid and Hiccup swapped the ceremonial rings, which were, as promised, forged by Gobber the Belch himself. Hiccup's ring was given to Astrid on the hilt of his new ancestral sword, which trembled as he strained under the weight.

"You can now join hands," Stoick reminded them softly as they observed the marks of marriage with burning cheeks. Astrid's eyebrows rose just the slightest at the prospect and Hiccup swallowed nervously, a blush creeping into his freckled face. He clumsily jabbing the point of the sword into the wooden floor, wrapping his hands tightly around the handle until his knuckles turned white. Astrid moved forward and steadily rested her callused fingers upon his trembling ones and squeezed comfortingly to ease his erratic nerves.

With the ring-exchange completed and their hands joined upon the sword hilt, the couple then spoke their sacred vows. Astrid spoke with a calm, clear voice while Hiccup stumbled a bit over syllables and pronunciation, causing Tuffnut to let out a hiss, earning him yet another whack on the head from Gobber.

Helga watched stiffly, her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pursed. She knew it was rude, but she nonetheless stared disapprovingly at the Haddock boy, who caught her glare and gulped nervously under her dominance. At that moment, with Helga's hard-set glare and Hiccup's submissive gaze, the two Vikings sent silent messages to each other.

Helga's searing glares warned, "_Ah have me eyes on ye_."

Hiccup's bewildered look simply read, "_Help_." He swiftly tore his gaze away from the intimidating woman and instead locked his eyes on his newly wedded wife's abdomen. Huh. His worried gaze suddenly grew mystified as he kept it locked on the swollen tummy. Huh. A funny look crept into his face as he remembered the other day when Ruffnut had wanted to touch Astrid's stomach, but was painfully rejected by her not asking for permission. It was strange, but even now as he stood in front of everyone he knew, he had the urge to t-

"Hiccup? Hiccup!" A sharp hiss snapped the boy back into reality. "It's time to go to the Great Hall," Astrid whispered harshly, gesturing toward the crowd, waiting for him to commence the trek. Hiccup blinked blankly and gave his father a questioning glance and Stoick confirmed Astrid's declare with a simple nod.

"Oh! Heh. Sorry," Hiccup apologized with an embarrassed grin, sneaking glances at Helga, who still hadn't ceased sending him murderous glares. What was going on with her?

This followed the rest of the procedures of a traditional Viking wedding on Berk. Once within the Great Hall, Hiccup was ordered to plunge his sword into the supporting pillar of said hall, which was alit with festivity for the occasion.

The custom reflected the demonstration of his strength, with the "luck" of the family, being the children, produced by the union. It was also said that the deepest of marks would signify the luck of the marriage, so Hiccup winced sheepishly when all he made was a light dent in the pillar rather than a scar of true depth with the ancestral sword. He could hear Astrid's mother groan in the crowd about his weakness and Stoick's angry gasp, causing him and Astrid to redden in embarrassment.

These preliminaries over, the feast began. And what a feast it was! Practically the whole village attended, all drinking, singing, and dancing happily. The older men scarfed down their mutton and bested each other at arm-wresting and other cardio activities. Women joined in and even bested some of the men in basic arm-wrestling without batting an eye. Others sat with each other simply to drink and chat.

The sacrificial animals from the wedding were skinned and eaten amongst some of the villagers, but the most important part of the feast was the ceremonial drinking of the bridal ale, another of the legal requirements for the marriage to be considered valid.

"Valid, shmalid," Astrid muttered indignantly into her palm as she rested at her spot around the bonfire. She snuck a glance at Hiccup, who seemed to be sneaking glances at her abdomen before his emerald eyes flickered away. "I think we're valid enough," she declared, posing her hand to show off her ring, and with her other hand, pointed at his. "Besides, I don't want to drink blood."

That got his attention, and he swiveled his head back in her direction, emerald eyes wide with shock. "Blood?" He gasped in disgust, his complexion paling considerably. "Uh, I-I thought it was wine!" He blinked. "It's...Isn't it wine? Ceremonial wine?"

"It _is_ wine," the female Viking confirmed, squinting when a look of confusion to overtook his face. "Except...You know those animals they sacrificed earlier?" Hiccup sighed and buried his face in his arms, muttering something about erasing images form his memories. "Yeah. Well, some of their innards may end up in our mugs."

"Oh. OH!" Hiccup covered his mouth with one of his trembling hands and Astrid gave him a shrewd, calculating look. "What?" He mumbled, eyes darting from left to right.

"Nothing... It's just..." She bit her lip. "You uh, you eat animals all the time," she pointed out, wrinkling her nose, "I just think it's a little strange that you ate a raw fish-a regurgitated one, mind you-without complaint, and all it takes is a little bit of blood to get you all..." She trailed off and made a vast gesture, "...like this."

At this particular case of déjà vu, Hiccup had to chuckle good-naturedly, his sickened expression disappearing for a moment. "You just gestured to all of me," he told her, smiling. "And the reason I ate that fish was because I was afraid of Toothless at the time. Not because I actually enjoyed it."

"You sure you didn't?" Astrid teased, crossing her arms with a mock smile.

"Oh, I don't know," he shrugged, playing along while he scratched at the itchy fur-cape. "Maybe I did. After all, Nightfury saliva and stomach acid has an _incredibly _tasty flavor when blended together," Hiccup offered.

"Oh, does it?" Astrid asked. Hiccup nodded. "If that's the case, than Toothless should cook dinner for us instead of me. Ha!" She smirked triumphantly, only for it to be wiped off when Gobber approached and slammed down two mugs before the newly wedded couple, drops of crimson liquid splattering against the stone in result of his rough actions.

"Here ye ah!" The man exclaimed with a grin. "One sip of this, and yer marriage is valid." He scratched his head, rethinking what he said. "Well, technically the marriage is valid once Astrid is given her morning-gift after the, ah...consummation... But ye know what ah mean." Hiccup stared at the crimson contents of the mug, gulping audibly and sneaking a look at Astrid, who half-shrugged. "Go on," Gobber encouraged, patting him on the back. "Make yer toast, lad."

Toast? Toast! For a split second, Hiccup was at a lost, but then he remembered. Clearing his throat, he stood up and raised his mug into the air, not caring if anyone was really paying attention to him at that point. He made a quick toast to Thor by moving his hands in a T-shape before quickly seating himself once more, his freckled face burning in embarrassment. "Well that stunk," he admitted.

Gobber glared at the crowd. "Eh, don't beat yeself too much over it, lad. Everyone's too drunk to listen anyway. Astrid?"

The girl boldly rose from her seat with a smirk, not unsurprisingly, and thrust her mug into the air. "A toast," she announced solidly, her clear voice echoing off the walls of the Great Hall, which captured everyone's attention.

"Well, I guess they aren't _too_ drunk," Hiccup scoffed.

Astrid smiled, raised her mug, and shouted, "To Freyja, to whom this marriage will be blessed upon!"

"To Freyja!" The Vikings all chorused, and took large swigs from their mugs. Hiccup tentatively took a sip, nearly gagging on the wine while Astrid breezily emptied her own mug. Like her, all the other Vikings drained the wine supply in no time flat.

All but one boy, who looked on silently.

A few seats to Hiccup's right, one particular guest was quiet amongst the rowdy Viking population. Snotlout, of all people, rested his cheek against his callused palm, listless. His chocolate eyes were trained on the fire until he saw dots, but he couldn't have cared less. Not when he was feeling like a Monstrous Nightmare that had accidentally burned down the village. During the previous half of the feast, he had been fine enough, considering the circumstances, but when Astrid had made a toast by raising her _mug_, it triggered his anxiety and guilt that he was bottling up inside.

Snotlout's innards churned in protest as he tried to distract himself by taking a swig from his own mug. This proved to be a big mistake, now that he was staring at the very object he used in order to make sure that their relationship would fall apart. He gulped, feeling quite nauseous and scooted the object away with a finger.

"Hey, Snotlout, are you feeling better?" Asked the concerned voice of his friend, Fishlegs. The boy didn't even flinch, just flickering his gaze elsewhere. Fishlegs could not believe it. "You're...quieter than usual."

"Is that a problem?" Snotlout hissed with pure venom in his voice, though he still refused to make eye contact.

"Oh, w-well no!" Fishlegs stuttered helplessly. It was so difficult to converse with the burly boy sometimes, or anytime for that matter. "I-I-I just think that we haven't really talked about what happened earlier today," he explained politely, "I don't get why you've been acting so weird or why you were so mean to Hiccup, and I want to know-"

"Fishlegs!" Snotlout shouted abruptly, causing the larger Viking to flinch. "Did I ask you to talk to me? Did I come to you to discuss my feelings? Uh, that would be a big "N-O-E", no! You can spell that, right? So do me a big favor. Leave. Me. Alone." Snotlout snarled loudly, emphasizing each word with an accentuated pound on the table with his fist, causing the larger boy to cautiously distance himself, and unbeknownst to Snotlout, drawing the attention of several other villagers.

"I have absolutely _nothing_ to say to you, _nothing_ to prove to you, and even if I _did,_ I would never tell you, because you couldn't keep a secret to save your own _life_."

A look of hurt flickered across Fishlegs's chubby face. He was rather self-conscious about how he was weak in the questioning department. "Wait, now hold on just a darn minute," he protested defensively.

"For Thor's sake, 'Legs!" Snotlout cried almost exasperatedly, throwing up his hands. "Mind your own business for once. Why don't you just go join Hiccup and Astrid and congratulate them on their perfect marriage, huh? Go do that."

Fishlegs was at a loss. He looked about and squeaked, suddenly aware of the hundreds of faces staring at the two of them in bewilderment, including Stoick and Spitelout. "Uh, speaking of Astrid and Hiccup," he whispered sheepishly, pointing a finger, "You should probably lower your voice, because they're staring at you along with the uh, whole tribe."

Snotlout's hard-set glare disappeared and he stiffened, except his still-pointing finger, which went limp. Slowly, he swiveled his head around to where the Chief was seated, and sure enough, he and his father, Spitelout, were staring at him. Stoick's expression read as puzzlement and bewilderment, Spitelout's read embarrassment and hostility. Astrid stared at him in growing anger and disgust, and Hiccup stared in pure confusion.

The young Viking gulped and lowered his head, knowing he would most likely hear more about this later from his senior. He slid the front of his helmet over his eyes, shutting out the world. "Thanks for the heads-up, 'Legs," he whispered.

Astrid scoffed at Snotlout's display of decorum and whispered to her new husband, "Man, no offense Hiccup, but your cousin annoys me."

Hiccup only shrugged, not at all offended. "Well, in his defense..." He began and then trailed off, pondering over any type of redemption his cousin may have possessed, but found none. "Never mind," he decided. "He is who he is. That's fair enough."

"Mm... I guess," Astrid hummed, unconsciously resting a hand in her abdomen. Hiccup's eyes trailed to her hand, and he bit his bottom lip. Once against, he was drawn to that particular place, the _holder._

"Hey, Astrid?" He asked softly, gaining her attention once more. "What does it fee-!"

"Hiccup!" Stoick bellowed, roughly pulling his son aside before he could finish his question. The man looked left to right, and that's when Hiccup noticed that the older, married men that were his groomsmen, and the older women that were Astrid's maids of honor, all were situated near the entrance doors of the Great Hall, watching and waiting expectantly. It didn't take long for him to pick up where his father was going with that.

Stoick sighed and patted his son on the shoulder, smiling a comforting half-smile, well aware that what was to come was going to be both awkward and undignified for his son, but it had to be done. "It's time for the ah, the consummation." He gave the fourteen-year-old a pitying look as said boy began to splutter with embarrassment.

"O-O-Oh gu-gah...um, uh...I-Is it...y-you know...n-necessary?" Hiccup fumbled, twiddling his fingers. "W-With Astrid being pregnant and all, don't you think that...?" He trailed off and blushed a beet red.

Stoick thought for a moment and swallowed. He hadn't thought about it. "Well," he decided slowly, "let's just see what Astrid's mother has to say about it and we'll go from there."

Hiccup paled at the suggestion, remembering the distrustful glare that the woman had impaled him with earlier. "Her mother? You're really going to ask her mother?"

Stoick frowned and shrugged, bothered by the fact that his son was so distressed, "I don't see why not."

Hiccup stole a glance at Helga, who stared back with narrowed eyes. "She was giving me weird looks during the ceremony. I mean, it wasn't like any look I've seen lately. It's like this...hateful scowl."

Stoick's expression hardened into a somewhat threatening look. "Oh, did she?" He snuck a glance at Helga.

"Yeah," Hiccup shrugged sadly. "I'm not upset at her or anything but, it's like, every time she looks at me its with this disappointed scowl, like someone skimped the meat out on her sandwich." Hm. That sounded familiar.

"Well," Stoick reasoned, "I know Helga may seem like a stoic person, but I'm sure she'll warm up to you. These thing take time, you know."

"Yeah? I guess so. Stoic. Hm. Isn't that what your name entails?" Hiccup asked with a chuckle.

Feeling a bit left out, Astrid eased her way into the conversation. "Hey guys," she greeted cheerfully, "What happens now?"

Hiccup took a start at the question. He glanced at his father for help, who just nodded expectantly. "Uh, it turns out that we're ah, doing the whole consummation after all," he weakly informed the girl. "You know...the whole thing where we have to do...that. In front of...them." He jabbed a thumb at the crowd gathered at the doors.

Astrid scrunched her eyebrows, looking as if she were going to barf. "I thought we were past that part," she pointed out reasonably, gesturing to her bloated stomach.

Hiccup jumped on her point. "Yeah, can we skip it?" He pleaded. "Please? I really don't fancy doing that in front of anyone."

Astrid agreed, shuddering in disgust. "It's making me feel weird just thinking about it."

The chief rubbed the space between his eyes. The truth was, he hadn't been told what to do in this type of situation while he was a heir in training. Sure, he had married off many couples and had been a witness to their consummations, but what to do when the girl already happened to be pregnant? "I want to hear your mother's opinion on the matter," Stoick decided, turning his back on the two teenagers to head for the group of adults.

Astrid sighed and Hiccup rolled his emerald eyes for the umpteenth time that day. "This should be good," he muttered, crossing his lanky arms over his chest for a sense of security.

"Hey Hiccup!" Tuffnut, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, sprung between the couple, causing them to yelp in shock. He snickered at their reactions and ignored Astrid's delivered punch to his shoulder.

"Oh, hi Tuff," the slightly younger Viking sighed wearily, situating himself once the initial shock wore off. Forcing a smile onto his face, he asked, "Having a good time?"

Tuffnut chuckled, looking quite pleased. "Heck yeah!" He exclaimed, waving a leg of mutton in the air. "Did you try the mutton? Great stuff, great stuff..." He trailed off to take a chomp of the meat, and then chewing noisily. "Sho, mwa ah ya gonna doe eht?" He asked with a devious smile, his mouth still full of mutton.

"E-Excuse me?"

Tuffnut held up a finger, swallowed, and with a sly grin on his face, asked, "So, when are you gonna _do_ it? Hmmmm?" He was directing this question at Hiccup, wiggling his eyebrows.

Astrid caught on immediately and stepped forward with her fist in the air, fully prepared to strike if Tuffnut dared to continue. He cowered and flitted away with his hands up in defense. "Hey, hey, hey! It's a simple question," he defended, unable to keep the smirk off his face.

"Yeah, we're just curious!" This time, it was Ruffnut that popped out of nowhere, wrapping an arm around Astrid's temporarily unarmored shoulders. Hiccup covered his face in a combination of exasperation and humiliation.

"Guys, c'mon," he pleaded in embarrassment, "Can't you keep those personal questions to yourself?" The twins looked at each other and shook their heads in perfect unison. At that, Hiccup face-palmed with a groan, "Well, do me a favor and try, okay?"

"Okay, okay. I'll try," Tuffnut assured the other male, and not even two seconds later he sighed distantly, "I give up. But I tried, right? So give me the details when you're done servicing each other, will ya?"

Hiccup went red in the face and he snapped, "No! That's none of your business."

"Oh come ON!" Tuffnut protested with a whine. "I wanna know the details, man, DETAILS! And it's nothing personal; it's just a guy thing."

"A guy thing?" Having had enough of the twin's antics, Astrid shrugged Ruffnut off her shoulder and dangerously approached the male, her teeth gritted and her fists clenched. "How much do you _really_ want to know, Tuffnut Thortsen?" She growled with narrowed eyes, causing him to finally recognize the warning signals and back off a bit. "Really. How much?"

Fortunately, for his sake, he recognized the danger signals. "Uh... Not that much... Maybe not that much," the other blonde mumbled, averting his eyes from hers. But when she still seemed unsatisfied with his answer, he desperately thought of an escape route. "Uh, look!" He pointed at a random place in the hall, "A distraction!" Astrid actually took a glance behind her shoulder (and mentally slapped herself later for it) and Tuffnut seized the opportunity by sprinting away, hauling his sister in tow in a fit of snickers.

"Wha-? Hey!" The blonde shouted in fury at the retreating forms, "Get back here you mutton-heads!" Her blast of a shout managed to gain the attention of several Vikings, much to Hiccup's dismay.

To ease her nerves, the male gently rested a hand over her shoulder, causing her to flinch at the touch. "I would just ignore them," he advised, "You know Ruff and Tuff; they try to get on our nerves all the time. This isn't any different from what they do every day."

Astrid calmed a bit at his reasoning, and though she hated to admit it, she knew he was right. The twins were always incorrigible, so what was new? With a heavy roll of her sky-blue eyes, she rested her own hand over his freckled one. "True enough," she admitted begrudgingly, rubbing her callused fists together. "But that still won't stop me from kicking their butts later. So, on that cheery note... Do we seriously have to do the whole consummation, or is it just an option?"

"HICCUP! ASTRD! Come over here, the both of you. IT'S TIME!" Stoick's booming voice echoes off the walls before Hiccup had yet again a chance to answer. The two adolescents gave each other wry looks before turning to face the tightly packed group of adults that were gathered at the grand doors of the Great Hall. Helga and Stoick seemed to have come to an agreement, because for once, they weren't gazing disapprovingly at each other. Of course, that didn't stop Helga from delivering her ever-constant death glares to Hiccup.

"I wouldn't count on it," the fourteen-year-old muttered sourly.

…

**Author's note: NEW POLL! If you guys like or don't like the idea of Toothless and Stormfly mating at Snoggletog, you can now cast your vote on my new poll. Tell me what you think! Remember I'm trying to keep the story a little realistic. And trust me, writing a realistic story about a world with dragons comes easy. Really. *Rolls eyes* Anyway, I think I'll have more polls as the story goes on, so stay tuned and cast your vote. (If you are without an account, I suppose you can just write it in a review anonymously)**

**And of writing: Typing. Takes. FOREVER! My thumbs are turning purple. What more can I say? Except for... Oh yes! There is an overload of Hiccstrid in the next chapter. So hold on to your hats! Because...you're gonna tip over and it's gonna fall off.**

**I don't think the word "bastard" technically counts as a bad word in the way I used it. It means, "fatherless". And I used it in that term. Not in a bad way.**

**Do yer old pal Emma a favor and favorite Mishap by Mug. Or follow. Whatever. I have typed over thirty pages and I'm dying. I GOTTA STOP TYPING BEFORE MY FINGERS FALL OFF!**

**Ps: If anyone got the "Look! A distraction!" reference, I LOVE you for that! *whispers* ****It's a Fanboy and Chum Chum reference.**


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